


Some Things Don't Stay Dead

by Hyrulehalfbreed



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Ajin - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Attempted Murder, F/F, F/M, French-Speaking Jean Kirstein, French-Speaking Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), German Eren Yeager, Immortality, Immortals, M/M, Panic Attacks, Running Away, Science Experiments, Science Fiction, demi-humans, thug!levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-10-29 12:39:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10854180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyrulehalfbreed/pseuds/Hyrulehalfbreed
Summary: His life in the small German town had been so boringly mundane when Eren thought about it, but maybe he shouldn’t have taken it for granted. There was the saying that no news was good news, as his father fondly noted over multiple dinners when Eren only gave a grumble when asked about his day. He should have appreciated every moment of his quiet life.That was all hindsight now, as his body continued to fall six stories down towards the unforgiving asphalt.Eren Jaeger died that day, but he didn’t stay dead, two minutes later he was alive and kicking again. However, discovering that he was an Ajin, an immortal being, that would come back no matter how many times they were killed, didn’t exactly come free of charge. Now on the run from the government and trying to stay off the dissection table was Eren’s new life. What happens when he finds a short, angry Frenchman also on the run and sharing Eren’s immortal curse? What will Eren do if he has to choose one race over the other?You don’t need to know anything about Ajin to understand the story, it only takes the concept of it and does not include any of the characters. So please give it a chance!





	1. It's a Long Way Down

Eren Jaeger had never wondered what dying would feel like, he was a healthy, seventeen-year-old in his final year of high school and his eighteenth birthday was just around the corner. He didn’t particularly enjoy school, but then again what teenager in their right mind did? Well, besides Armin, but he was a special case!

Still even with his average marks, his athletic record was something that Eren thought he could easily use to his advantage to get into a decent college. While he might not become a doctor like his father, he thought he could still make himself into something that his parents could be proud of. 

However, that was still far in the future, there was no rush to think or worry about it. After all, with an average person like him, the possibilities were actually pretty limitless. At least that’s what his mother told him in a teasing manner whenever he felt down about his, again, typical life. 

While he might not be the most social teenager and his temper left him with more enemies than friends, Eren thought he was well off with the ones that he did consider himself close to. Honestly, only two people outside of his family mattered in his eyes. 

There was Armin Arlert, a short blond with an almost ridiculously perfect bowl-cut and honestly, Eren suspected that Armin’s brain was also stored in his thick hair since all the information he could pull out on a whim shouldn’t fit in a normal person’s brain. Then there was Mikasa Ackerman, she was half Japanese and half German, fluent in both languages. She was a rather quiet girl, intelligent and stubborn, but fiercely protective for both Armin and Eren. Unfortunately, it was quite common even today that the fights that Eren started were finished by Mikasa. Which made most of the student body keep a wide berth away from the foul tempered Jaeger boy and the meek Brainiac. 

Still there were always those assholes that would take a shot at the pair of boys from time to time. Such a thing was disgustingly common no matter what age or school one attended. 

It was all so boringly mundane when Eren thought about it, but maybe he shouldn’t have taken it for granted. There was the saying that no news was good news, as his father fondly noted over multiple dinners when Eren only gave a grumble when asked about his day. He should have appreciated every moment inside of his quiet hometown in Germany. 

That was all hindsight now, as his body continued to fall six stories down towards the unforgiving asphalt. 

As the wind howled in his ears he thought that he could hear as scream, he wasn’t sure if it was Mikasa or Armin’s. Maybe it was both as they looked down at him, he could tell their mouths were agape in horror even as their faces grew smaller and smaller. 

There were faces of the other students that were craned over the railing of the roof. So very many of them, after all, they, like Eren and his friends, had been eating their lunches peacefully moments before there. Eren hated that they were all just watching on in shock, but none of them seemed to be able to look away from his inevitable last moments before he was a red smear on the ground. Even the bully that had pushed him from behind looked sick. 

Of course, no one could have known that Eren would lose his balance and go careening over the edge. 

He was falling backwards and Eren wondered if he should attempt to roll over, to see his death rapidly approaching him. But he decided against it, call it cowardly, but he rather these last few moments be filled with the numbness that came with the anxiety of not knowing when he would hit. Still, perhaps it was some primal instinct, he arms quickly wrapping around his head. He knew it was pointless, there was no way he was going to survive this. 

Though his eyes stung from the chill of the wind, but they refused to close. He wanted to see everything one last time, even if it passed by in a blur. The tree of the courtyard, the ugly off-white flecking paint of the old high school, and the seemingly limitless sky. But fate appeared to want to mock him even more with the day being cloudy and dark clouds sitting stagnant to obscure what was supposed to be a beautiful final view. 

Still, this seemed to be a really long fall, or maybe it just felt like that to him? 

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his body made impact. His body had been slightly curled, an unconscious vain attempt at making himself smaller, like that would make the damage be less. However, all that accomplished was making his spine hit the hard concrete first. Pain erupted up his back, as a short, sharp breath escaped him as all the air he hadn’t been aware he had been holding was forced from his lungs. 

Then, everything went black and Eren knew that at that moment he had died. 

Armin’s fingers were white from the grip they had around the railing of the roof, mouth hanging slightly open as his lungs seized for a few moments. It was only after the dull, perhaps meaty sounding, thump was heard that he could took a ragged gasp. But it turned into a gag as he watched dark red seeping out from where his best friend laid sprawled on the ground. 

Eren wasn’t moving, honestly, Armin didn’t expect him to. After all, no one could survive taking such a fall. 

While Eren had given up the idea of becoming a doctor rather early on, Armin had eagerly broadened his knowledge to fulfill that dream himself. He had always been frail in body, particularly when compared to both Mikasa and Eren. But becoming a doctor, into someone that could help people without brute strength had appealed greatly to him. Eren’s father, Grisha, was an excellent doctor and had eagerly agreed to help Armin learn about the human body and medicine. 

However, right now, Armin wished that he could rip all those little facts from his brain and return to blissful ignorance. To be like the rest of the students looking down in shock at the limp body below, their eyes shining with hope that the brunet would move once more. 

Still from a medical standpoint, Eren’s death should have been mostly painless and instantaneous. His spine impact first which wound break and even shatter the vertebrae there. Those sharp gagged chips of bone would eviscerate anything in their path which included internal organs and other bits of flesh. Eren’s spinal cord was, no doubt in pieces, which would probably be why the fall was painless. 

So Eren wouldn’t have felt the way his shins shattered as his legs laid and bent at awkward angles, nor the way the bones attaching his elbows together were now poking out of his thick blazer jacket that was growing darker in color as it greedily absorbed its former owner’s blood. Yes, Armin should be grateful that more than likely Eren didn’t suffer.

Fat load of comfort that did Armin’s heart though. He had seen that look in his friend’s eyes, the fear, confusion, horror, anger, and then acceptance.

It was that emotion that made Armin feel sick the most. 

That shouldn’t have been the expression that Eren wore when he died such a death. It was just wrong, making the situation even more horrendous. Eren was a bottomless pit of fury when he felt someone slighted him or went against his morals. He should have been angry when he struck the earth, not figuratively rolling over and accepting his fate. 

Maybe it was shock, Armin tried to rationalize it, as he dully noted the sound of choking and struggle behind him. He didn’t need to turn around to get an idea of what was happening as he caught a glint of red in the corner of his eye. Mikasa had taken a hold of the collar of the bully’s shirt and was practically strangling him as she dragged him closer to the railing. 

He should stop her, Armin knew he should. After all, there didn’t need to be two funerals, even if one was justly deserved in his opinion. But he didn’t want to see his only remaining friend sent behind bars. Even so, he just remained frozen to his spot, unable to look away from the growing stain that had been Eren’s lifeforce. 

“I didn’t mean it! It was an accident!” 

The bully was basically squealing as he tried to fight his way out of the grip of a girl that was shorter than himself. But Mikasa was unflinching, even as tears streamed silently down her face. Some students took a few steps forward, looking like they would try to stop a potential murder. But the glare she sent their way would quickly make them step back, some of the ‘smarter’ ones had run down the stairs to look for a teacher, while others reached for their phones. Some dialing for both police and an ambulance, while others were just recording what was happening before their eyes. 

Human nature really could be sickening, couldn’t it? 

“I’m sorry, plea-!” 

“Sorry doesn’t fucking give Eren back, does it?” The words were hissed out of clenched teeth as Mikasa forced the boy against the railing, his back hitting painfully against the metal as he continued to babble and sob out excuses. Trying to desperately save his own skin as the girl hissed, the fury in her eyes clashing with the tears still leaking down her face, “Think about it this way, you either spend your life in prison for murder or you end it here. Doesn’t seem like there’s much of a difference, right?!”

Someone had to pay and the culprit was standing right there! Could she really rely on the justice system to give the other was he deserved? What Eren deserved? It felt like her very heart had been ripped out and was laying at the bottom of the building with the corpse of the boy she saw as a brother. 

Normally, Mikasa was a very logical person, except for when it came to those she cared about. When her family had moved to Germany, Eren had been her very first friend and played with her despite the language barrier that existed at the time between them. Armin soon was added to the mix, being introduced to her through Eren. With their aid, she rapidly started to learn how to speak German while the two boys learned bits and pieces of Japanese. They had been inseparable since. 

They had been talking about making a trip to visit Japan and Mikasa’s old hometown after graduation, but now those dreams had fallen and shattered into so many pieces. This couldn’t go unpunished!

With a soft breath, Armin finally wrenched his eyes away from the corpse to look at Mikasa, his words hollow, but firm, “Stop, there doesn’t need to be two deaths today.”

Fury made both her teeth and her grip around the other boy’s throat clench as she glared down at the bully, “How can you say that?! He… He’s responsible for Eren’s…” Her throat caught on the word, the other teenager in her grasp similarly unable to breath as he weakly clawed at her hands as his vision was no doubt getting blurry by now. 

“Mikasa! I don’t give a damn if he lives or dies… But I can’t lose you too! Eren wouldn’t want you to rot in jail for him!” 

The desperation in the blond’s voice gave Mikasa pause, seeing wide blue eyes wet with tears she finally let her grip slacken. Her target falling to the floor with heaving gasps before scrambling away on hands and knees to put as much distance as possible between him and his potential end. 

Still Mikasa’s mind whirled and bitterly she wondered if Armin or others would tell her that from now on she would ‘need to live for Eren’s sake’. It was so cliché and it made anger continue to lick at her insides, what was the point in living in a world without someone that helped to brighten it? But she knew that she could never leave Armin on his own, he was stronger than many gave him credit for. However, they would need each other to deal with… this. 

Armin wasn’t surprised when Mikasa didn’t apologize for her actions, only giving him a small nod as she buried her nose and mouth into the scarf she always wore around her neck. Armin returned it with a weak smile. 

But what were they going to do, what would they say to Eren’s parents? Carla was basically like another mother to them and Grisha was always willing to offer advice or cheesy humor whenever he managed to get a break from his demanding work. 

Seeing their faces would probably mean getting heartbroken all over again. Armin’s mind whirled as he thought of ways on how to approach the Jaegers, then again… the police would probably inform them of Eren’s death before they ever got the chance. Would it be better to receive the news from someone that far more impersonal?

They lived in a small town, there was no way that they would make Grisha do the autopsy on his own son, right? The thought made the blond’s stomach clench, would there even be a need for one? It was obvious that Eren had died from the fall. Could that be the end of the story? Or would his parents be determined to find out if his last moments were painless or not? What would they do, what would Mikasa or Armin do if they found out they weren’t? 

“Holy fuck, I think he moved.” 

Armin’s eye twitched at the mutter from someone behind him, could the rabid dogs really not give him a single moment of peace to think things through?! His nerves were almost completely shot and he actually felt the desire to strike whoever had spoken… or to unleash Mikasa upon them. Before he could decide on either action, more people began to scream and point wildly down towards the ground. 

What Armin cast his eyes on was something he had never imagined…. And was rightly horrified by it. 

He had to confirm that was he was seeing was real and fumbling he managed to grab his phone out of his pocket, turning on the camera and zooming in as much as possible. Mikasa was hovering over his shoulder to watch as well and her sharp intake of breath echoed his own. 

One of Eren’s arms was indeed moving, the upper half twitching and jerking, but from the elbow down there was no movement. Armin knew the reason for this was that the jagged edges of the humerus protruding from the upper arm’s stump and through the ripped sleeve of the jacket were no longer connected to radius and ulna that made up the lower part of the arm. 

Armin’s eyes narrowed, confusion and sick curiosity fueling him as he squinted at the small screen. It was difficult to see what was going on, not only because of the distance, but the fact that this black…. Stuff, seemed to be oozing out of Eren’s body. 

It looked almost like thick black dust, or maybe even dirt, but it swayed and shuddered over the brunet’s corpse like it had a mind of its own. Swirling in concentrated spots where the most damage had occurred. There shouldn’t be any wind, and even if there was, it certainly wouldn’t be moving over Eren like that! 

He kept the camera focused, despite the way that his hands wanted to tremble as he aimed it at his friend’s arm. Armin was able to see thin, pale pink strands of flesh wiggling and twitching in the empty space where Eren’s elbow was supposed to be. Then they managed to stretch all the way to the rest of the broken, almost severed arm as it was held to the rest of the body only by the skin of Eren’s inner elbow from what the blond could see.

The strands, ligaments and tendons, Armin realized with astonishment, squirmed their way into the open portion of the lower arm and slowly the pieces of the limbs were dragged closer together. He could only watch as more little strands stretched together, arteries, veins, and nerves, Armin’s mind provided in his stunned stupor. Then layer by layer, bones, muscle, and skin appeared to fill in the ghastly wound. 

Soon the only evidence of the horrific wound was the blood-stained fabric and the hole torn in the sleeve where the now, pristine tanned elbow peeked out. 

Some students screamed as Eren’s legs suddenly jerked straightening more naturally and Armin could imagine what was occurring under the fabric of the other’s pants. Bones realigning and torn muscular fibers repairing themselves. 

Armin swallowed hard as his mind stuttered to make sense of what was happening, moving the angle of his camera slightly so that Eren’s chest was also in the shot. However, no movement came from it. No hint of breath as the corpse corrected its condition. In the background, Armin could hear sirens and some of the kids starting to pray around him as they whisper of either miracles or monsters. Those options were much too farfetched for the blond’s brain. 

The truth though, might be more damning than if Eren was labeled as a demon. No doubt the other students would start putting two and two together soon as well. But for now, all he and Mikasa could do was watch and hope. 

 

The sound of crackling, no, chittering? It was a strange sound that bounced around Eren’s ears as his eyes slowly opened, wincing as a pocket in the clouds allowed bright, harsh sunlight to shine in his face. However, that was unimportant, for the moment Eren was just trying to figure out what that weird noise was. It was similar to the sound of finger nails clicking repeatedly against hollow wood, or a mass of insects shifting against each other. It was a mixture of both something biological and just… wrong at the same time. 

Groaning softly, Eren forced himself to sit up slowly, wondering briefly why the hell he was laying on the ground in front of his school to begin with before his attention was drawn to something…. Disturbing. 

Blood, or he at least thought it was. 

It was everywhere, he had been lying in a huge puddle of the stuff, his clothing stiff and clammy feeling against his skin as the back of it was drenched. Alarmed, the brunet staggered to his feet. What was happening?! Then he heard that chittering noise again, it had never stopped, but it had fallen to the back of his mind in his mounting panic. 

Like static. 

He found his eyes drawn downwards, widening at the sight of black specks rapidly swirling and twisting around his fingers as he drew them towards his face. No way, before his very eyes he watched as the cuts he had gotten from soccer practice the day before disappearing before his eyes. The skin left unscarred and pristine as the black particles disappeared into thin air, along with them, went the noise. 

Only as the last of the particles drifted away into the sky did Eren register the screaming. It was coming from the roof and from several of the windows of the school, tiny forms rapidly pointing and screaming at him like he was some…

The memories came rushing back, the force of them almost sending Eren flat on his ass once more into the pool of blood…. His blood, his mind reminded. He had fallen over the edge, he had died. He knew he had fucking died, so why was he…?

“Eren!” Armin’s scream had him wrenching his head back to squint at the tiny figures on the roof, barely able to pick out the blond and black haired heads that belonged to his friends. The next word that rang out made Eren’s blood freeze in his veins.

“Run!” 

Eren found himself taking a stuttering step backwards, brain trying to catch up with what was happening and failing. His sneakers making a wet splash in the blood, the red eagerly being sucked into the porous material and no doubt ruining his socks as well. Not like that was important at the moment, his frazzled brain groused. “Wha…?”

“Get out of here, Eren!” This time the cry came from Mikasa, the fear and strain in her voice seemed to finally shock Eren out of his stupor, as did the sound of sirens rapidly approaching. He couldn’t help but take one more glance up at the rooftop where his precious friends stood before turning on his heel and dashing out of the school courtyard, past the gates, dodging through honking cars as he weaved clumsily through traffic, and he just kept running. The anger and frustration from the situation would come later no doubt, but for now he just needed to focus on escaping.

He had to get away, after all, he wasn’t human anymore, was he? And the whole world was no doubt about to know it.  
Eren Jaeger was an Ajin, and that was…

…….

‘An immortal creature in human guise. No one knows if Ajin are born or made, the first Ajin having only been discovered less than two decades ago. They looked, acted, sounded, and in theory aged like humans. In fact, the only way one found out that they were an Ajin was to, well, die. Only a couple dozen Ajin were confirmed to exist across the world, but there are probably many more in hiding. The governments of each country claim to take any discovered Ajin into protective custody… But that was more than likely a pile of horseshit. There were plenty of videos online that claimed to show Ajin being experimented on for pharmaceutical and weapons tests.’ Armin thought to himself as he watched the form of his retreating friend for a few seconds longer before turning to Mikasa. 

They didn’t need words, both getting over the shock of their friends’ death and then revival with surprising swiftness. Those facts didn’t matter, what did, was meeting back up with Eren and getting the hell out of this small town. If Eren was taken by the government, they both knew the chances of them ever seeing or hearing from Eren again were less than slim. 

Mikasa swept Eren’s discarded backpack over one of her shoulders, her own on the other as Armin started to wiggle his way through the crowd towards the roof door. However, just before he reached them, a hand was fisted in his blond locks, wrenching his head painfully back as another set of hands grabbed his arms. They shouldn’t have expected that it would be so easy. The rest of the students had gotten over their shocked stupor faster than Armin had accounted for. 

“Where do you think you’re going?! After your freak Ajin friend?” The words were shouted into his ear and made it ring. Humans turned on each other much too quickly in the face of something strange or frightening, history had told Armin to expect as much as his eyes teared up from the pain in his skull as his head was yanked on. 

Another voice rang out this one was female, high pitched with fear, “Maybe they’re monsters too!” 

Weren’t these assholes just mourning the loss of Eren only a few short seconds ago? What did they have to fear?! Sure, Ajin could come back good as new from any physical or chemical wound, but other than that they didn’t have any human murdering superpowers. ‘Right?’ Armin pushed the thought away to continue trying to squirm out of the other students’ hold. 

The next second, Armin found himself released, eyes glancing to see his attackers on the floor, holding busted noses and Mikasa with her fist still raised. 

“Thanks,” his voice was a bit shaky as the girl helped him to his feet, the rest of the student body shying away in fear. Still the pair didn’t want to test how long that would last. Their feet racing down the stairs, they dodged teachers and managed to slip past the patrol cars that had just arrived at the scene. Free from prying eyes and ears, Armin pulled out his phone, dialing his friend’s number and praying that it had survived the fall with its owner. 

On the second ring, a breathless voice greeted his ears, “Armin, I-“

“Eren, where are you?” Mikasa’s worried gaze made the blond quickly turn the phone to speaker mode after he asked the question. 

“I’m, umm, at my house?” The voice was small and uncertain, so unlike the normal Eren. The shock of all this was obviously hitting him hard, but the two teens couldn’t help their anger at his actions. 

“Idiot!” Both Mikasa and Armin yelled, and they could easily imagine Eren pulling the phone away from his ear because of the volume. Mikasa taking over as the blond was struggling with their brutal pace, “That’s the first place they’re going to come looking for you!”

“Well excuse me for not having a fucking plan in place if I ever needed to run for my life!” Welp, it seemed that Eren still had his rage after all. That was comforting. 

“Listen,” Armin was panting, but he continued to lead the way, Mikasa following behind unquestioningly, “Just gather everything you think you need or is important, limit it to one bag, okay? Things you just can’t leave behind.” The last sentence was spoken softer, the silence from the other line almost deafening before a mumbled affirmation was made. 

“I know it’s hard,” Armin started, before wincing as Eren cut him off, “It’s fine, just tell me where to meet you guys.” 

“Head over to my grandfather’s place, we’ll take one of his cars and head on the road, find a place to lay low until this all blows over. Turn off your phone after this, we don’t want them to trace the signal, okay?” Again, a small sound of understanding came from Eren before a click sounded. Armin let out a small sigh as Mikasa kept her gaze focused ahead, she was such a strong girl, but by running away with Eren… They would both be giving up their normal lives and be wanted by the government for possibly aiding a fugitive. 

That was fine, they both had experienced the pain of losing Eren once already and neither were eager to repeat it. It had always been them against the world, only now it would be a lot more literal. They’d survive, they had to. No matter what country came after them in hopes of gaining another test subject, it’d be okay… At least that’s what Armin kept telling himself as his grandfather’s house finally came into view. 

…..

Eren was thankful for the small miracle that was his mother being gone when he arrived at home. She’d probably gone to buy groceries or something. Whatever the reason, he was glad that he wouldn’t have to say goodbye or possibly lie to her. He had immediately hopped into the shower to rid himself of all the blood and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Though he almost became physically ill when he watched all of the red tinged water swirling down the drain, but there seemed to be nothing in his stomach to throw up. 

But the organ still clenched uncomfortably as he toweled off at the thought of how his parents would react to him running away. Eren knew his father would understand the reason, he’d been the one that agreed with Armin’s hypothesis that Ajin were probably being used for government testing after all. 

But his mother, she’d be heartbroken. They’d both be worried about his fate and Eren had nothing that he could offer them. It was fucking frustrating and hot angry tears were making tracks down his face as he shoved more clothing into the largest duffle bag he could find. He was trying to be like Armin as he packed, more logical than sentimental. 

A toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, any money he could find laying around the house, food from the fridge, his laptop, 3DS, PSVITA, chargers, water bottles, and anything else he thought he’d actually use on the run. Still he couldn’t help but pause as he picked up a framed picture of himself and his parents, a sob hiccupping out without his permission as he stuffed it into the bag as well before slinging it over his shoulder.

It just felt too wrong to leave without saying something. 

Swallowing hard he pulled out the memo-pad his mother used for grocery lists, his hand shaking horribly as he started to write. He’d tell them not to worry, that he’d find a way back home eventually, that it wasn’t their fault, that he had just been stupid, it was an accident, he didn’t mean for all this to happen, he’d protect Armin and Mikasa, that by cutting ties now his parents would be safe from the government…. 

But what if the government did try to use his parents or friends against him? Eren’s grip on the pencil threatened to snap it as he growled, “I’ll kill them all. Anyone that tries to hurt my family. I swear I’ll kill them, dammit!”

The tears still burned his eyes, but were lessening in the face of the fury licking inside of the Ajin’s body as he continued to scribble out his last goodbye. 

He was unaware of the large shadow lurking in the kitchen behind him.


	2. Escaping Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> warning: graphic violence and panic attack in this chapter, sorry for those who read this before I put this in

Finally, the pencil stopped scratching against the paper. The contents of the letter were a disorganized ramble of apologies and reassurances. Most might not be eligible as Eren’s handwriting had always been terrible. There were a few teardrops that smeared the lead and there were places where the paper had almost torn because of how hard Eren had scrubbed at the spot with the eraser. Still, he believed that it was better than leaving without saying anything. He had tried to leave the letter with a note of humor, telling his parents that they weren’t allowed to sell his bigger gaming consoles or give them to his bratty cousins. 

Rereading the words just made a hollow ache in Eren’s chest though. 

Fuck, how could his life have been upended in one single day? He didn’t ask to be an immortal creature, he would much rather have continued his life blissfully unaware that he wasn’t human. 

Eren was all for boring now, give him back mind numbingly boring days barely conscious in class. He wasn’t even going to be getting a high school diploma now, was he? He wasn’t going to be able to spend his 18th birthday with his family or get hefty graduation cards filled with money from his father’s co-workers. Money that he was going to use to buy his own car or motorcycle. 

He shook his head, an attempt to physically removed himself from his depressing thoughts. Eren couldn’t mope about the ‘could have been’s, he couldn’t afford to. Not when it wasn’t just his life, his freedom would be a more accurate description, on the line. Armin and Mikasa were waiting for him, determined to help and stay by his side. 

Many people would claim that they would never turn on their friends or loved ones, but if a large amount of money was just within reach. Well, history has shown that greed won over morality most of the time. 

Mikasa and Armin were different though, Eren had no doubts about their integrity and reasons. It was one of the reasons why he wasn’t just going to make a run for it on his own. The pair would chase after him, which might put them into even more danger than if they went along with him. 

Also, to be honest, Eren knew he wasn’t the brightest bulb. He wasn’t stupid, but his emotions could easily overrule his logic. Rage, being his most prominent one. It was a good thing that his father was a doctor, else they wouldn’t have been able to replace half of the crap that Eren had broken during his temper tantrums when he was younger. He was better at controlling it now, but if prompted, he would be the one to take the first swing.

As awful as he knew it was to think it, Eren was glad that he wasn’t going to be alone. Even if it meant Armin and Mikasa throwing away their own futures too. If he had to go through this by himself, Eren doubted that he would get very far. 

Taking a deep breath, he finally pushed himself away from the counter, turning on his heel so he could leave. Only to stop dead in his tracks.

He wasn’t alone in the kitchen. 

Standing in front of the refrigerator, there was a… thing. At first Eren had thought that it was a person, which made him reach for the switchblade that he kept in his pocket before he took in the finer details of the creature. 

That crackling noise was back. 

The creature looked like a human in form, but it was much too tall. Eren was 170 centimeters tall, so he wasn’t short by any means of the word. This thing though, towered over him, well over two meters tall and broader in the chest than Eren was. There was no skin, no clothes covering it either. Instead it seemed to be wrapped, more like encased, completely from head to toe in these black bandages that crisscrossed and overlaid each other. The muscles were obvious on this thing, as were the claws that tipped both its large hands and feet. There were no eyes or nose, the space they were supposed to be was just a void black space that seemed to open into eternity with no beginning or end to the darkness in sight. 

What it did have was ears, long and tipped like they belonged to some elf from a fantasy movie. The jaws on it were disjointed, the front portion hanging lower on the face than the back. Lips were absent so black teeth were grinning back at Eren. 

Black particles, the same ones that Eren had seen pouring out his body when he revived were being shed off the being. They seemed to be what it was made from as with each sway it made more of the particles would drift into the air and then disappear. There was a constant presence of the moving black specks about the shadow’s head. If Eren had to guess by the way they moved and were a constant presence, they acted like ‘hair’, the particles falling to rest just above its shoulders. 

It made no move to attack him, instead continuing to sway slightly and ‘stare’ ahead of itself. No movement came from the chest of the mummy-like figure, it didn’t seem to have the need to breathe. Eren didn’t know what this thing was and didn’t really want to stick around to find out. Swallowing hard, he steeled his nerves before taking a slow step to the side. If he could make it to the front down, he could make a break for Armin’s grandfather’s. 

“I’ll… kill… them… all.” 

The voice that came out of the shadow was Eren’s own, he knew it was, despite it having a weird echo and dissonance to it. It was repeating the words that he himself had spoken just a few minutes prior. 

That was a far from comforting thing to hear, even if they were words that came out of his own mouth first. He had no way of knowing who ‘them’ was to this shadow. Was it to Eren’s pursuers or to his loved ones? The thought made anger lick its way through him, shouting out as he tightened his grip around the knife and brought it into view, “I don’t know who or what the fuck you are, but you need to get the fuck out of my house. I swear if you do anything to hurt my family, I’ll-”

Eren’s breath caught as the creature turned its head slightly to regard him and his slow steps out of the kitchen. Its head tilted slightly, like it was confused by the Ajin’s actions before the warped voice rang out again, “I… swear…”

Then the crackling grew quieter, along with it the shadow disintegrated before Eren’s eyes. There was no trace of it on the floor where it had been standing or any other sign of its presence. He could only hope that it was gone for good. He took another step backwards and then another, cautious and unsure if the thing would reappear to gut him with those vicious claws as soon as his guard was down. 

But no attack ever came. 

Maybe…. Maybe it had all been in Eren’s head. A hallucination brought upon by the stress of the situation, or maybe his head didn’t heal right from the fall and he was suffering from a concussion. Yeah, it was probably nothing, immortals were proven by science. But weird black ghost thingies, that was a bit of a stretch, right?

Finally, he dared to turn his back completely to the kitchen and hurried out of the house. As he locked the front door, the key felt heavy in his hand. Eyes narrowing at the familiar gleaming piece of metal before glancing at the mail-slot in the front door. 

After a long moment, he decided to pocket the key. He’d hold on to it. 

It would be a physical reminder of the dream, no, the fact that he would come back home someday. Just because he was an Ajin, that didn’t change the fact that he was still a Jaeger and Jaegers were stubborn as hell. Even his sweet mother, a Jaeger by marriage, could raise hell if she wanted to. The events of last year’s soccer team bake sale went through Eren’s mind. Yes, she could be as salty as switching the salt and sugar in… sugar cookies. 

A small smile cracked across his face, yeah, he could try to leave with a good memory in his mind as he readjusted the bag on his shoulder and started to run. He stuck to back alleys and his heart leaped each time he heard sirens in the distance. But the flashing lights never appeared. Armin’s grandfather’s house was only a fifteen-minute run from the Jaeger’s but it sure as hell felt a lot longer. He was constantly sprinting and then stopping to hide in shadows and behind trashcans whenever he heard voices too close for comfort 

The small house was a welcomed sight and when Eren tried the knob he was relived to find it unlocked.

What he walked into seemed to be organized chaos, orchestrated by a familiar blond head of hair. 

Armin was sitting in the living room between stacks of books tapping quickly away at a laptop as he shouted out orders to his grandfather and Mikasa from time to time without looking away from his work. When the old man spotted Eren he sent him a strained, but welcoming smile which Eren did his best to return. Armin’s grandfather had always been a sweet, caring man. It didn’t surprise Eren that he would still be opening his arms to him despite his new immortal status. The bearded man probably wanted to give some encouraging words but he was too busy juggling several coolers between his arms as he moved to the garage. 

Mikasa was packing several bags in the living room with a determined expression on her face. However, her work stopped as soon as she caught sight of Eren standing awkwardly in the doorway. Her steps were quick to eliminate the distance between them. But when she reached him and started to reach out a hand, she hesitated. 

Eren decided to close the distance for her, wrapping her in a hug. The bone crushing one he received in return made him wheeze as Mikasa dropped her head against his shoulder with a deep sigh. 

They stood like that for several seconds, Eren thankful for the hug he didn’t know he desperately needed, and Mikasa thankful for the fact that she could indeed confirm that he was there. 

She drew one of her arms back to lay the hand attached over Eren’s heart, feeling the blood pumping muscle pulsing underneath her fingers in an incessant beat. Her eyes met his and the chocolate colored orbs were watery as she mumbled, “You’re alive. Shit, you’re really okay.”

“…Don’t ever fucking do that again or I will end you myself. I don’t know how, but I will.” Mikasa promised, eyes narrowing in a glare as Eren laughed nervously. 

“Isn’t killing an Ajin physically impossible? Anyway, ending Eren would be REALLY counterproductive at this point.” Armin called out as he continued to type away, though there was a slight smile on his face as worked. Despite the trauma they had endured earlier that day, and the uncertain future, the atmosphere in the Arlet household felt… Normal. 

The house still smelled of dust and old books, the refrigerator was still loud as hell, gurgling and clicking in the background.

“You’re slow,” Armin added as he stabbed a button on the laptop. When the whirring sound of the nearby printer started he quickly crawled across the cushions of the couch to pluck the still warm papers out. 

“Yeah, glad to see you too,” Eren quipped back, getting a roll of blue eyes in return as Armin flipped through the sheets. 

“It’s been forty-seven minutes since you fell from the roof, I’m guessing we only have another twenty before the police set up a blockade around the town to try and keep you from escaping. We need to get out of here before then.” 

“Sorry, I didn’t exactly think it would be a good idea to run through the streets covered in blood.” 

The banter made things feel normal and it caused Eren’s shoulders relax as Mikasa gestured for him to hand off his bag to Armin’s grandfather and then join her in organizing the other bags. Eren noticed there were stacks of both Armin’s and Mikasa’s clothing. He guessed that Mikasa had probably made a quick run to her house. Armin lived with his grandfather so he didn’t have to worry about it. 

‘Organizing’ Eren realized, meant shoving as much as they could into one bag before moving to the next one. The whole while Armin continued to work feverishly at the computer and the printer was constantly vomiting out more papers. Eren and Mikasa trusted their friend to plan. 

As they finished loading the last bag into the not too terribly beat-up, ten-year-old four-door truck, Armin joined his friends in the garage with his grandfather. 

“Now you’re sure you have everything,” the old man asked, biting his lip in worry as he gave each of the teenagers a firm hug. 

“No, but we’ll have to make do with what we have. We can’t afford to take any more time.” Armin’s voice was soft as he held onto his grandfather for several long moments before forcing himself to let go. It was decided that Mikasa would be the one to drive, as she looked the oldest of the trio and was the most confident behind the wheel even though all three had a license. Armin would ride shotgun and act as navigator while Eren would lay behind the front seats on the floor with bags over him to help hide him from sight. 

Armin didn’t cry as they departed, though his lower lip wobbled as his grandfather set his old straw hat on his head and told him one last time to be safe. They would be taking this truck because there was no reason that the government would be looking for them in it. The vehicle had belonged to a distant relative of the Arlets and when they passed away it was left to Armin’s grandfather in the will. However, the man had never gotten around the finalizing the paperwork that would put the ownership under his name on any papers. In other words, the truck would be untraceable to having anything to do with a fleeing Ajin and his cohorts. 

Laying on the floor was hardly comfortable for Eren but the dirty and stained carpet was better than a dissection table. Without being able to see out of the windows, each turn that Mikasa made just caused Eren feel more lost and disoriented as all three were silent. Driving through their hometown now felt like they were trying to creep over a minefield. Each hitch in Armin’s breath when the car would pause made Eren tense as he waited for the sound of guns, sirens, and shouting to begin at any second.

They never came however, much to everyone’s relief. Eren didn’t have a watch and with his phone turned off he had no way to know how much time had passed. After what felt like forever to Eren, Armin’s blond head leaned over the center console and into his line of sight, “We just left town, I think we’re good now. It’s probably for the best though that you stay on the floor.”

The air rushed out of Eren’s lungs with relief as he asked, curious despite knowing he might not like the answer, “What did the town look like?”

While Eren couldn’t see it Mikasa’s grip on the steering wheel was white and her brows furrowed, the anger in her normally calm voice was shocking, “News crews everywhere, some of them looked to be heading towards our school and some looked like they were heading towards your house or the police station. It’s like a freaking circus! I know there’s only like, what, two dozen Ajin in the world, but still! There’s no reason to be acting like rabid animals when it’s someone’s life.”

“Actually, there are fifty confirmed Ajin, the most recent one was discovered in Japan two weeks ago. Funny enough, he was a high schooler like us.” Armin corrected, reaching down to rummage through the cooler by his feet and pulling a few drinks out of the ice. An iced tea for himself, an iced coffee for Mikasa, and a cola for Eren.

It almost felt like they were on some weird road trip. 

“I guess Eren makes the fifty-first Ajin,” Armin mused, pulling out multiple folders from his backpack and starting to sort through the trio’s wallets and the money that they managed to take from their homes. “There has to be more out there, it’s a scientific impossibility for such a subgroup to be so small. My guess is that many did exactly what we are.” 

No response came from Eren, his thoughts a blur as he sipped at the drink, being careful to not have the bubbly liquid slosh up his nose in his awkward position. The specter he saw in the kitchen flashed across his mind, but he decided to not mention it. He still wasn’t sure it was even real. 

“By the way, where the fuck are we going? No one ever filled me in.”

Armin groaned softly in annoyance while Mikasa smiled into the scarf wrapped around her neck. Yes, the blond was certain that Eren wouldn’t survive on the run for even a week if he didn’t have them. “Seriously, you didn’t think to ask?” 

“You told me to help pack everything, I was kind of busy!” 

“Fair enough, we are heading to Jean’s family’s summer cabin in the mountains.” Armin admitted as he split the money between the wallets equally. The trio had grown up with Jean Kirstein, becoming good friends despite how in the beginning of their relationship Jean and Eren could hardly stand each other. Both being too stubborn and hot tempered in nature. But with age the pair had grown to accept each other and were grateful to have someone watch their back. 

Jean was half French and half German, his family lived in Germany until the kids entered their last year of middle school. That’s when Jean’s parents decided to move permanently to France. The four friends had been heartbroken to be split up, but Jean’s family visited Germany every summer to relax in the mountains. The trio often spent half of their summer up in that cabin. The days would be spent catching up and exploring the nearby woods. Getting scrapped up knees and more than one broken arm over the years just came as extra bonuses. 

“Um won’t they notice the increase in water and electricity bills?” Eren asked wincing as he felt what was probably a pair of Mikasa’s boots sitting heavily on top of his stomach. An extra pair of shoes was one of the things that Eren forgot to pack and he knew Armin had much smaller feet than his own. Hopefully his tennis shoes still had a lot of life left in them. Maybe Jean had some shoes in the cabin he could use.

“That’s the beauty of convoluted democracy and economics,” Armin smirked as he ripped out all the old ID and credit cards from their wallets. They should probably just throw them away, maybe melt them down. They couldn’t risk leaving a paper trail. He’d have to decide later, “Because of the whole process of dual nationality and property ownership. The Kirstein’s only pay bills twice a year and the companies don’t really keep that close of an eye on it because the house must be charged for water and electricity just for being connected to the grid even if no significant amount is used… I asked Mr. Kirstein about it when I had to stay back in the cabin after spraining my ankle really bad two years ago.”

“Huh,” Eren mumbled back, well that was convenient. A squawk was suddenly ripped from Eren’s lips as he felt something fall onto his chest. Hands flailing until he found the texture of familiar leather and he pulled it to his eyes. Flipping it open, Eren didn’t notice anything amiss at first besides the increased girth of it from the stack of bills stuffed inside. Then he glanced at his driver’s license. The picture was slightly different, so was the information printed on the small card. But the name listed didn’t match at all. 

“Holy shit Armin, did you make us fake IDs? They look legit. How do you even know how to do this?”

“I have hobbies.” Came the cheerful reply that made Eren groan. 

“Ya know, you really terrify me sometimes with that brain of yours.” 

Mikasa chuckled as she used one hand to muffle the other’s bowl-cut as he squirmed at the sudden affection, “Well, I’m certainly not complaining.”

“I wasn’t complaining!” Eren grumbled before yelping as something else landed on him, it was a chocolate bar. While the snack was appreciated, he’d already had a rough enough day as it was without being treated like living furniture. “Seriously, stop throwing things at me!”

The two teenagers in the front of the truck only broke down into giggles as Eren fumed about this and that. The conversation eased into comfortable silence and after a while soft snoring alerted the humans that their friend had fallen asleep. Eren was known for being able to sleep through almost anything and Mikasa’s hand moved to turn on the radio to fill the void in noise. 

However, she was stopped by Armin, the blond pushing her hand gently away from the knob with a small shake of his head. Mostly likely almost all the stations would be crowded with talk of the new Ajin and the search for him. Armin didn’t think they needed to hear that, not when they were trying to keep on the bright side. While he was worried about the Jaegers, Ackermans, and his own grandfather, he trusted them to be able to handle themselves. No one would be able to make them give information they didn’t have. Armin hadn’t told his guardian where they would be heading. 

Ignorance would hopefully be bliss in this case. 

It took three hours of driving to reach the mountains to the north of their small town, another two hours to reach the cabin. By then, they were all sore from staying in the same position for so long, hungry, and just wanting to settle in as the sunset colored the sky behind them. Eren was the most eager to get out of the truck as he managed to push the door open on his own and wiggle his way out from under the pile of luggage. 

Eagerly he sucked in a deep breath of the fresh air, if he had a choice, Eren could definitely see himself living out in the wilds. The cities had never agreed with him, too full of stuck-up people that pissed him off. 

Under the cover of thick trees, Eren could relax, they’d be safe here for a while at least if he trusted Armin’s judgement. Which he did, just like he trusted gravity to pull his ass down to the ground if he slipped off… a roof. 

Eren shook his head with a small groan, grabbing his bag and another armload of things as he called out to his friends who were still getting out of the truck. “I’m going to head inside, I call horse-face’s room!”

He didn’t wait to hear their acknowledgement, quickly bounding up the stairs of the cabin and taking the key from its usual hiding place, inside a horse statue’s mouth of all places. 

With a twist of the key, Eren was inside of the homey space. It looked just the way it had last summer. Beautifully stained cedarwood interior with a cheesy antler chandler that Jean’s mom had always hated. The fireplace as barren and smiling pictures sat on the mantel above it. The trio being in many of the photos as well. 

The cabin was two stories and the bedrooms were located on the second floor while the kitchen, living room, dining room, laundry room, and entryway were on the first. Eren dropped the bags of who knows what by the door before heading up the stairs to throw his bag in the room he claimed. 

Shouldering the door open he was greeted with the familiar navy-blue walls and light brown furniture. There was a queen-sized bed that Eren had had to share with Jean many times in the past. The once smooth blankets and sheets were mussed as Eren dropped his luggage on top of them.

Unzipping the bags, Eren quickly started to rummage through his, now few, belongings. The first thing he pulled out was the framed photo of his family. It was a recent one, taken when they had gone to the park for a picnic despite Eren’s protests about being out in public with his parents as being lame and that he wanted to play his new game instead of potentially getting skin cancer from a sunburn. It had turned out to be wonderful day despite Eren’s embarrassment about his mom asking a passerby to take the photo of them. 

His thumb gently brushed over his mother’s hair. His dad would have his work cut out for him to keep her sane and not punching newscasters in the face. Eren hoped that his parents weren't ashamed of their spawn being some creature… A deep sigh was heaved out of his lungs at the thought. 

Just as he was setting the picture frame down, Eren’s arm was seized. 

As the loud clatter and sound of glass breaking filled the cabin, Eren found himself being shoved forward. His front was pinned to the mattress and one of his arms was wrenched painfully behind his back. Eren flailed, trying to use his one free hand to strike his attacker, but because of the odd angle he couldn’t put any force behind the hits that did meet their target. 

The assailant’s hips were close to his own, which made kicking pretty much impossible. 

Turning his head to the side so he didn’t suffocate on the bedding Eren got a glimpse of the intruder. 

The first thing he noticed was the man’s eyes, a light blue that had a bit of grey to them. They were cold and narrowed, it felt like the man was piercing straight through him with those unmerciful orbs. The second thing Eren noticed was that while this new person was short, he was built. Dressed in black jeans, white long-sleeved button-up, and brown vest as he was, Eren could see the muscles under fabric as well as feel them as the stranger obviously had no trouble holding him down. The third thing was the dark hair that crowned his head, cropped short and styled into an undercut with his bangs parted slightly to the side. He looked older than Eren, but he had no idea where to place his guess. Perhaps in his late twenties?

“Who the fuck are you?” 

The man’s voice was much deeper than Eren had expected and it had an accent to it that was definitely not German as Eren’s native tongue seemed to sit too heavily on the man’s tongue. It sounded French, he should know having dealt with the Kirsteins for so long. Still, shouldn’t Eren be the one asking such a question? The twisting of his wrist made Eren cry out in pain, for a moment the only thing that he could think was ‘holy shit, this guy’s definitely going to break me into pieces.’

Eren berated himself internally, he should have realized something was off as soon as he walked into the room. The freshly made bed was a major tipoff, now that he thought about it. Even if Jean only visited this place once a year and his mother screamed at him, Jean NEVER made his bed. The comforters and sheets stayed mussed through the fall, winter, and spring. 

The sound of feet rushing up the stairs startled both males, the raven cursing as Eren struggled harder. Armin and Mikasa were coming and Eren was torn between being horrified and relieved. He had no idea how dangerous this guy was and while Eren might be able to come back from the dead, his friends basically only had one save file. No do-overs. 

But three against one might mean they could win, right? Kick this guy’s ass and…

Eren’s thoughts were interrupted as the pair appeared in the doorway, Armin freezing at the sight of the stranger while Mikasa’s gaze turned murderous. Her hand quickly went to her belt and Eren wasn’t surprised to see the knife she pulled from it. After losing Eren once today, Mikasa wasn’t about to hesitate. She didn’t care who this guy was, he wasn’t going to get away with hurting those she cared about. 

….

“Really, more brats?” The man hissed, his eyes flicking between the rapidly approaching girl and the youth still struggling in his hold. He didn’t have any other choice, it was the most peaceful solution. The raven took a breath and then…

He screamed.

It wasn’t a high-pitched wail of fear or pain, it was just a scream, no words. It was just a primal sound, but it still felt wrong. The voice seemed to resonate through Armin’s very bones and seemed to drop and rise in pitch sporadically. It sounded warped, like he was hearing it underwater. Then, Armin’s body locked up. Not a single muscle would obey his command to move, not even his eyes. Instead he could only stare forward in horror as he noticed Mikasa was in a similar state as himself. 

The man let out a small sigh, shaking his head before grunting in surprise as a hard kick landed on his shin. His gaze turning down to see the youth he was holding still squirming, shouting incomprehensible things to the raven’s ears as the German being spouted was much too fast for him to keep up with. He was confused. He tightened his hold on the brunet and lifted him slightly from the bed before slamming him back down into the mattress, “Why aren’t you frozen?!”

More angry German assaulted his ears and the man sighed as he used his free hand to pull the switchblade out of his pocket. The teenager had stilled as soon as he caught sight of the weapon, gulping audibly but managing to keep his glare despite the trembling of his body. 

Not bad, it was a pity things had come about the way they did. 

If the kid had stiffened up like the other two he wouldn’t have to do this. But he couldn’t afford to take any chances. With ease, he jerked the brunet off the bed to instead be kneeling on the floor. The knife was pressed against the tanned throat of the kid. There was about to be more blood on his hands. 

The knife laid under where the lower jaw rested above the throat. The rapid pulse of the brunet’s external jugular vein thrumming through the weapon and to its owner. Those ocean colored eyes never closed, even as fear no doubt raced through him. It really was a waste, just a case of the wrong time and place landed the four in this situation. 

In one quick motion the cut moved across the front of the teenager’s throat, sliding over his Adam’s apple until it reached the matching point on the other side of the neck. 

Blood gushed from the wound as the well-practiced swipe carved through major veins and arteries. The boy wouldn’t die instantly, which was unfortunate. But there were worse ways to go. A minute or two feeling your life force draining out was better than others. It wasn’t a walk in a park, but it was surviv- tolerable… At least the man thought so. 

He set the bleeding body down, the boy barely twitching even after his arms were finally released. He refused to meet the eyes of the three, soon to be two, teenagers as he quickly side-stepped past the growing pool of blood and to the end of the bed. 

Picking up his backpack that had been resting just out of sight, he slung it over his shoulders before making his way to the window. One glance back at the body on the floor showed that there was no movement, the kid was no longer breathing. 

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he spoke, voice soft but filling the silent room. “Celui qui viens de nous quitter, repose en paix.”

Turning away he forced the window open, he fully intended on jumping from the second story to make his escape, not wanting to risk walking past the two others blocking the doorway. Not that they would be moving for a few more minutes. 

He couldn’t risk having the boy calling the police. He desperately needed those few extra minutes to leave the area and unfortunately, that meant making whatever sacrifice he needed. 

Just as he started to slip one leg out of the window and was ducking his head to leave, a ragged gasp echoed behind him. You had to be fucking kidding him, he turned his head back only to stare in alarm as the brunet sat back up. 

….

Eren was not happy, this was the second time today that he had ‘woken up’ in a puddle of his own blood. Sitting up, the rapidly becoming familiar sound of the odd crackling was filling his ears as the black particles rolled off his body. Eren’s gaze jumped back and forth between the man and his still paralyzed friends. What had he done to them? How did Eren fix it, holy shit were they going to be stuck like that forever?!

This man proved he was willing to kill, he was a threat and rage quickly ignited itself in Eren. He wasn’t going to let him get away. Maybe with his death whatever spell that was over Mikasa and Armin would be lifted. He didn’t have time to think of the consequences. Eren quickly jumped to his feet and grabbed the large blade that he had just remembered was still in his pocket before rushing forward. 

His attacker still seemed to be in shock at his revival when Eren reached him, quickly he grabbed hold of the shorter man’s vest and pulled him from the window. The man seemed to have recovered his senses somewhat as he started to struggle. His punches were hard and quick, but Eren refused to let him go despite the pain that made his vison go spotty as it was obvious the man knew what he was doing. Always aiming for the head. 

Their grappling eventually landed them on the hardwood floor, both sets of clothing quickly getting painted in blood. Some of it now the stranger’s as Eren dug the blade into flesh whenever he could. Leaving lacerations to the man’s chest and arms as Eren struggled to keep his knife from getting stuck in fabric. 

The knives that the teenagers had were mostly for show, they hadn’t really used them or thought they would ever have to before this.

Finally, Eren felt like he had gained the upper-hand, managing to flip them over so that he was crouching over the stranger and pinning him down. If Eren had been in his right mind he would have wondered why the raven seemed to have stopped struggling. 

The thing was…

Eren wasn’t in his right mind. He was blinded in a mixture of rage, fear, and pain. He wanted it all to end and each time he left a deep cut, he felt victorious. He was defending Armin and Mikasa, he was going to survive by eliminating what would try to ruin their perfect plans for escape. 

For that reason, Eren brought the knife down a few more times. Ignoring the way that warm sticky blood felt on his face. He hadn’t noticed that the man had stopped moving. Eren only stopped when a hand gripped his shoulder, wild eyes whipping back to see the concerned face of Mikasa behind him and Armin standing in the doorway with a sick look on his face. 

They were moving again. 

Relief flooded Eren and he stumbled to his feet. Hugging them both tight before freezing as he noticed the blood he smeared on their clothes. It was only then that the reality of the situation sunk in. Eren had just murdered someone. Not only that, he had absolutely massacred the stranger. There was a dead body in the house and he was the reason for it.

What had he done?! It was in self-defense, but that didn’t excuse the brutality of what he did. 

Eren felt sick as he looked away from the corpse, Mikasa holding onto his shoulder gently as Armin prattled on about how they could get rid of the body and to not worry. But Eren wasn’t listening, too busy hyperventilating as he watched Mikasa leave and then hurry back with a damp towel to try and wipe the blood from his hands and face. 

“Hey!” 

The shout jerked Eren back to the reality, finally focusing on the blue eyes before him as Armin cupped his face in his hands. “Okay, there you are. I want you to breathe with me and Mikasa. You’re going to make yourself pass out at this rate.” 

He kept his grip on his head until Eren gave a weak nod, “Good, now breathe in. Do you remember how to count in five in Japanese? I want you to do that in your head three times.” 

All three started the impromptu breathing session to help walk Eren down from his obvious panic attack. He’d never had one before, but after all he had been put through, he was more than justified in it. They did this for probably a minute and Eren thought that he was finally getting his heartrate back under control and that his lungs weren’t about to pop at any moment.

Of course, something had to ruin it as Eren flinched as the sound of crackling filled the air. Mikasa and Armin not seeming to be able to hear it as they exchanged confused glances at the strange expression that crossed their friend’s face. Eren ignored them though, glancing about his body in confusion as he didn’t spot any of those damned black specks trailing out of him. His haphazard twisting and turning to look at himself made him face the corpse once again…

Only it wasn’t a corpse anymore. 

The man was standing up slowly, black particles swirling about his chest and sides. 

“God, it’s always such a mess. Hurts like a bitch too. Hey, brat, you owe me a new shirt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French translation: I do not speak French so please forgive me if it is incorrect 
> 
> Celui qui viens de nous quitter, repose en paix: "Who has just left us, rest in peace."
> 
>  
> 
> Welp second chapter, Eren's pretty brutal, but then again when fear grips you... things can happen.
> 
> I wanted to sketch some pictures of what Eren’s IBM form looks like. 
> 
> I’m 24 years old, but for the life of me, I cannot draw so please excuse the shitty art. 
> 
> Eren’s IBM is modeled in a mixture of his titan form and with inspiration from Tanaka’s IBM as both characters have a pension for rage and a strong sense of correcting injustice despite how it might put them at odds with the rest of society. http://hyrulehalfbreed.tumblr.com/post/161121131405/some-things-dont-stay-dead
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this, I'd love to hear your thoughts!


	3. Set Up the Cards to Fall

“I… Wha-?” The words seemed stuck in Eren’s throat as he stared at the man. The man he had just MURDERED, casually pulling at his ripped blood-soaked clothing with a disgusted expression on his face. There were many things that Eren wanted to say at this moment. Well, demand may be a more appropriate word in this case. Who was this guy? Why was he in Jean’s house? Was he planning on murdering the Kirsteins? How had he made Armin and Mikasa freeze up like that earlier? 

Also, most importantly, why the fuck did he kill him!? Eren hadn’t done anything to him and this guy had literally slit his throat! Yes, these were all very logical and understandable things to ask the stranger, but all that came from Eren’s lips was an indignant cry of:

“I killed you!”

“Yup, you sure did, brat.” Came the simple, ‘p’ popping, response as the man finally turned his full attention back on the trio of teenagers instead of his wardrobe disaster. “I’m actually a bit impressed that you managed to do it too, then again I wasn’t exactly expecting a fight. The next time will have a much different result I assure you.”

The casual response made Eren’s blood boil and a glance to his side told him that Mikasa was just as furious as he was. Her hand was white with how tightly she held the knife that she had pulled back out of her pocket. She took a step forward and neither of the boys doubted that she wouldn’t hesitate in attacking the man. No matter if he could revive or not. The only thing that stopped her was the grip Armin had on her wrist, his voice loud and firm as he tried to gain control of the situation before more blood stained the expensive hardwood flooring. 

“Let’s all just calm down for a second! He’s obviously an Ajin like Eren so killing him won’t exactly solve anything.”

“It’ll make me feel better though,” Mikasa countered, her gaze never wavering from the man that was glaring right back at her in silent challenge. 

“Anyway,” Armin continued, trying to talk over anything else that could add fuel to the fire that was this awkward revelation. “This actually could really help us, there’s an obviously more experienced Ajin here that can help teach Eren about what he is. He can tell us how to deal with all of,” the blond waved his hands about the room, “this.”

The man’s eyes narrowed as he zeroed in on the brunet as he was named. Eren, huh? The name wasn’t familiar to him and it made him suspicious. He hadn’t had the chance to listen to the news today, but he had a bad feeling that he had missed something significant and he itched to turn on his radio to find out. However, the answer to that unpleasant sensation might be standing right in front of him. Taking a deep calming breath, he asked, “How long?”

“Huh?” 

The stranger looked like he was about to bust a blood vessel as he gave an exasperated sigh while rubbing a hand across his forehead. His expression pulled into a revolted one as he noticed the semi-coagulated blood sticking to his fingers and it was now no doubt spread across his face as well. 

“How fucking long have you known that you’re an Ajin, you shitty brat?!” 

“Well you could have just asked that instead of being so cryptic! ‘How long’, seriously!” Eren snarled back, really what was this guy’s problem?! However, the raven didn’t raise to the bait of Eren’s comeback. Instead he continued to stare at him as he waited for Eren’s answer. 

Armin gave a small sigh next to his volatile friend as he checked his watch, “I guess it’s been almost six and a half hours now.” 

That short? Eren felt shocked that it had been such a small amount of time since his entire life had turned on its head. He glanced towards the window and noticed how dark it had become outside, night had already fallen on Eren absolutely shit-tastic day. He didn’t know if it was possible anymore to hope for tomorrow to be better. 

“It was seen?” 

A curse left the presumed Frenchman’s lips at the nod he received in answer, he had taken to pacing on the other side of the room. He’d only just gotten to Germany and already his plans were being put through the shredder. He’d have to many some calls, not near the cabin, that wasn’t an option right now. Sending out a radio signal from where he was trying to lay low when the government was on high alert would be suicidal. They’d be looking for anything resembling a cellphone signal. 

“There’s no reason for them to come looking for us here, there’s no connection on paper from our families that would lead them to this place. We’ve also been pretty private all our lives so no one outside our immediate relatives should even have an inkling.”

“And you really trust them not to turn their backs on you?” The man asked while crossing his arms over his chest. “Ya know, facelifts cost a lot right now or maybe they want to retire somewhere nice.” 

“How dare you,” Mikasa hissed, jerking her arm free of the blond’s hold and Eren had tensed as well. Both starting to move towards the shorter male before freezing as the stranger brought his own knife into view. While his words had been harsh, there was something in those cold blue eyes that made the teenagers stop. 

Those were the eyes of someone that was haunted. They had no idea what this guy had been put through to make him have such a bleak outlook on humanity and honestly, they really didn’t want to know. Eren’s heart sunk as he thought back at how quickly the other students, no, the entire town had turned on him just earlier… 

Maybe… Maybe they really were putting too much faith in their loved ones. Eren shook his head like that could physically free himself from those dark thoughts. He assured himself that there was no way in hell that their families would betray them. 

They were stronger than this. Their families had to be as well. 

“I’ve seen a lot, even before I found out I was an Ajin I was made to witness how ugly and hateful humanity can be. The most perfect family home can turn out to be ugly and rotten when you start chipping off the paint.” The raven’s gaze was locked with Eren’s own, from the way that the other two reacted to the scream he knew there wasn’t a chance that the other two were anything but human. The blond and the girl had a look to their faces that told him not to doubt their loyalty to Eren.   
It was surprising and impressive, maybe there was a candle of hope. But so quickly that light could be snuffed out with enough incentive. 

Sighing, the stranger finally continued, “But if you’re willing to risk your freedom and their lives on it, then I’ll believe it… For now. Name’s Levi, by the way.” 

The question of what the man, Levi, would have done if he didn’t believe it hung heavily on Armin’s tongue, but he managed to hold it in as Levi picked up his backpack once more. Currently he was just grateful that his friends hadn’t tried to attack Levi again. Both of his quick-tempered friends had been stayed by the cold logic in the other’s words and the fact that he held himself in a way that spoke of years of experience with fighting. 

There was no tremble in the grip Levi had in his knife. Mikasa, strong willed as she was still had the wrist of the hand she held her own blade twitching from time to time. If she had to take a life, she would, but it didn’t mean she wanted to or was ready mentally to deal with the aftermath of it. Having been forced to watch Levi and Eren’s struggle and executions, Armin knew this man was closer to the monster that people tried to paint when they spoke of Ajin being inhuman and as such they didn’t deserve to be treated like anything other than a dangerous animal…. Or a renewable resource that could be abused without consequence.

Armin supposed that he could see the logic behind those fears of society. If an Ajin didn’t have to worry about the usual dangers that came with committing murder, like being hurt or killed themselves. What was there to stop them? If someone wanted to rob a bank and could recover in only a few minutes from bullet wounds, good as new, what was the drawback besides the temporary pain of death? 

Still Armin didn’t believe that ‘monster’ was the right thing to call Levi. The man had killed Eren and seemed willing to do it to them as well, sure. However, there was a tone of grief to his voice when he had been about to slide out of the window. Armin didn’t speak French, but he assumed whatever Levi had muttered was as close to a prayer or apology that one would get out of a person like him. If Eren had been paralyzed like both himself and Mikasa, Armin suspected that Levi would have just left them without any bloodshed. 

Which reminded him, “By the way Mr…”

When no response came from Levi other than a blank stare, Armin sighed. It looked like they weren’t getting the other’s full name, “Levi, how did you do that thing from earlier? The scream.”

The look that Levi had aimed on him turned into something more suspicious before finally shrugging his shoulders and moving past the trio towards the door to the room. “I’ll explain later, right now I’m going to take a shower. Being covered in blood isn’t exactly a picnic. Brat, you should take one too. There’s another shower room on the first floor.”

“I already know that!” Eren growled back, how dare this guy act all high and mighty, it was Levi’s damn fault that he was covered in blood in the first place and this was Eren’s friend’s house, not this prick’s. In fact, Eren was severely tempted to follow him and give him an earful. However, now being a known Ajin, Eren suspected that he might get stabbed in the face if he got on Levi’s nerves. Huffing, he turned towards the door as well, only to be stopped by hand on his shoulder from Mikasa, her tone incredulous, “You’re just going to listen to him?!”

“What? He’s got a point, this is gross.” 

“But-!”

“Mikasa, this has been a lot all at once, Eren does need to get cleaned up. I don’t fancy having a serious discussion while he’s,” Armin paused for effect as he gestured to the red splattered across the other’s clothing. That was two sets of Eren’s clothes ruined in one day, the night was still young so maybe they could set a new record, “like that.”

The words made Eren flinch, right, he didn’t know how the two could stand to be near him right now. Not just because he was covered in the stuff that was supposed to stay INSIDE you, but because they had witnessed him killing someone. They had seen him die twice, those were things out of Eren’s control. This was different though, if Levi hadn’t revived… 

Armin and Mikasa would continue to have his back. 

That was the truth of the matter, but Eren didn’t know how he would deal with the weight of another’s death on his shoulders. Yeah, escaping into the shower really did seem like a good idea right now as he tugged himself free from Mikasa. The girl released him quickly without protest, she still didn’t look happy with the situation, but tried to look supportive as Eren moved out of the room and down the stairs. 

Peeling himself out of sticky clothing wasn’t pleasant, but stepping into the warm spray of water was. Eren heaved a huge sigh of relief as he quickly scrubbed himself clean, having turned the temperature up to basically scalding so that it would remove all traces of the blood from both his skin and his mind. All it really accomplished though as making him look like a lobster when he finally reemerged from the shower. A grateful hum left his lips as he noticed the neat stack of clothing sitting on the counter for him. No doubt that it was Armin, he was the only one that would refold his clothing despite knowing he was going to be putting them on in a few minutes. If it was Mikasa they would be sitting in a tight ball and hopefully not in the sink or toilet. 

Mikasa didn’t do nice, she did practical and Eren couldn’t fault her for that. 

Dressing quickly Eren stepped out of the steaming bathroom and into the tense atmosphere of the living room. Mikasa and Armin sat on one of the couches while Levi sat in the armchair closest to the fireplace. The girl was still glaring at the man while Armin sat with one of his knees bouncing impatiently and a notebook was sitting in his lap. Of course, Armin would be using this opportunity to take notes on the species his friend had been revealed as.

While his friends were obviously tense and uncomfortable in Levi’s presence, the man appeared to be completely calm. Levi was sitting with one leg slung over the other and currently sipping from Mrs. Kirstein’s favorite mug that read ‘#1 MOM’. The smell in the air told Eren that it was tea, but Levi was holding the ceramic in a weirdass way that made him wonder how it wasn’t in pieces on the floor. 

No one was speaking, whether it was because they were waiting on him or because Levi was refusing to speak, Eren didn’t know. Swallowing hard, Eren tried to force the nerves down, moving slowly into sight he forced himself not to flinch as those cold blue eyes zeroed in on him. 

Why the fuck was this guy so intimidating? 

Oh right, because he fucking killed Eren and is an immortal being. 

So much for any internal pep talk that Eren was trying to internally build up. He moved quickly to sit between Armin and Mikasa when he received a small shooing motion from Levi. Eren really didn’t want to test just how short his patience was. Ass on the cushion Eren relaxed as he felt Armin pressing his knee against one of his own while Mikasa held one of his hands. None of them knew what to expect from this guy. 

“I was listening to the radio while in the shower,” Levi held up a hand to stop the blond as a look of horror crossed his face. This kid was the smartest of the lot it looked like. “I have a cloak on it, no one is going to be able to trace it. Government’s not going to be focusing on weak radio signals anyway, they’ll be looking for cellphone or internets pings instead. If they find out your P.I. addresses it’ll be a pain in the ass to go about hacking your computers to make them untraceable.”

Already he could feel the headache growing right behind his eyes. This whole situation was both convenient and a fucking hassle all in one. Setting his cup to the side he pointed to each of the teenagers in turn, “You’re Eren Jaeger, the newest Ajin discovered and have a 450,000-euro price tag on your head. Blond coconut Armin Arlet and the bitch currently trying to eviscerate me with her eyes is Mikasa Ackerman. All three of you, according to the cops, are wanted on the charges of failing to abide by the ‘Ajin Protective Custody Act’.” 

Levi gave the trio a few moments to absorb the fact that they were officially being labelled criminals by the government. He was surprised though when their expressions didn’t change much. Impressive, they truly were aware of what they were doing in their fight to free Eren from a very unpleasant fate. 

“It’s obvious you think that the ‘Act’ is a load of hogwash or you wouldn’t be hiding either.” Armin pointed out, Levi rose a sculpted brow. Really? ‘Hogwash’, that was a term that shouldn’t exist out of horribly cliché British dramas. 

“First, never use that word again you sound like some stupid Harry Potter rip-off. Second, like I said earlier, humanity isn’t pretty. I’ve been hunted for years by multiple different governments and agencies, I’ve broken into facilities where they house Ajin in the past as well. Any horror you can imagine, magnify that by fucking twelve. That’s what awaits you if they catch you. Chopping you up into pieces, injecting you with experimental shit, and shooting you to test new weapons is just the tip of the iceberg.” Levi wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything, it would be dangerous and stupid to hide from the reality of Eren’s new life. 

“You broke into government buildings?” Mikasa couldn’t help but ask, while she was still pissed at this shorty for what he had done earlier, she found herself hanging on his every word. Her grip on Eren’s hand tightened as Levi described what would happen to him if he was caught. Mikasa and Armin would probably be sent to prison. Eventually though, both she and Armin could be released, or perhaps even end themselves if it got to be too much. For Eren though, there would be no options. 

No final curtain call, just moving onto the next horrifying act without pause. 

She wouldn’t let that happen. If it meant that she had to work with this insufferable bastard, then so be it. Still, Mikasa had to ask, “Why would you break into places with top security if you’re trying to hide? Also, you obviously aren’t German, what are you doing here?”

“How observant, give the girl a gold star,” Levi rolled his eyes as he reclined further into the plush armchair. “I broke into them to save other Ajin. It’s not much, but I managed to free five others that were being held captive over the past fifteen years.” 

Levi wanted to do more, but with the risks involved and his own schedule he couldn’t just rush into action whenever he heard the whisper or scream for help. He couldn’t be everywhere at once and despite knowing the atrocities that were taking place, no one else was exactly jumping up to join him. “I’m originally from France, I became aware of my nature almost two decades ago. I suspect that my first death was much earlier than that though. Living in the slums no one really cared if you lived or died.”

“I’m here because I’m in the middle of making my rounds around Germany.” Levi continued, watching the trio exchange glances. Armin was constantly taking notes and he made a note to burn it later. He wasn’t about to let information slip out, even if it was an accident. “There are several Ajin that live in this country, I usually check in on them once every couple of months. I guess you could call me the Ajin police… No, guardian? I’m cleaning up after everyone else’s shit enough to be that. I move often through England, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Hungry, ya get the picture.”

Eren’s breath caught, there were others like him living in his own country in secrecy. It further fanned the flame of hope in his heart that he could have a semi-normal life despite his immortality. Levi caught his eyes with his own and Eren shivered, not that it didn’t seem like the other was going to make another attempt on his life… He was kind of awesome. Levi was trying to protect others like him, fighting against injustice, and traveling across western Europe.

“Wow, you’re badass.” When Levi raised a brow at him Eren felt his cheeks grow hotter, did he really just say that? 

“Anyway, if you’re an Ajin in my domain you follow my rules.” Levi was amused by how quickly the younger male shifted through emotions, from rage to adoration. It would probably give Levi whiplash if he had to cycle through expressions like Eren did. The brat wore his heart on his sleeve, which was dangerous. 

“No killing humans unless it is absolutely necessary. Do not reveal yourself to anyone, no matter how close you believe yourself to be to them. Always use a cloaked cellphone and radio to keep in contact and check-in every night. Look out for each other. If you need to commit crimes to survive, do so smartly. Do not move locations without informing at least two others of it.” Levi never wanted to be a babysitter, but that’s what he felt like half of the time. 

“Just for arguments’ sake, what happens if we don’t follow your rules?” Mikasa asked, voice calm and cool, but her eyes alight with challenge as she sat up straighter. They needed to know exactly where they stood with this guy. Levi could be both their savior and downfall so easily. 

“Then I have to take you out of the picture.” 

Mikasa and Eren looked incredulous while Armin’s expression was grim as he muttered, “Just because Levi can’t kill Eren permanently, it doesn’t mean he can’t incapacitate him.”

“What do you mean?” Eren wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, his stomach dropping as Levi answered. 

“Ajin aren’t as invincible as you might think. Let’s say I don’t want you to leave. I could cut off your legs and hands, make sure you don’t die from blood loss. I could keep you bedridden and helpless, stick an IV into you to keep you alive even if you refuse to drink or eat. You won’t regrow your limbs unless you die. Let’s say I don’t want to bother with your upkeep and you’re too much of a threat to have walking around. I could seal you inside of a barrel or bag without oxygen, bury you underground. You’d be stuck in a constant cycle of revival and death with the lack of air.” 

Shit, Eren had never thought of what could be done to him and what he would be stuck with if he didn’t stop the beating in his heart. While some might not think that dying would be a big deal with the promise of coming back. 

But oh, the pain was still there. 

Despite the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Eren had felt the knife sliding through his flesh. Had to suffer through the agonizing two minutes waiting for himself to bleed out. Those memories would stay with him, forever. 

Honestly, Eren didn’t think anyone could experience multiple deaths without going insane. Maybe it was predestined that Ajin would become psychopaths. The thought made him feel sick as he looked at Levi in a new light. Still the other didn’t fit the traditional definition of crazy and he had a sense of justice that Eren admired. 

“Unlike some of the people I’ve met in the past, I don’t think that you three will be hard to control. Eren conveniently comes with collateral.” Levi tacked on after letting the trio chew on what he had just said. 

“What do you mean by that?” Eren’s brows were furrowing, not liking the sound of this. 

“He means us,” Armin explained, shoulders sinking as he leaned into the couch. Mikasa and himself were going to act as a double-edged sword for Eren. While they could offer him assistance and watch his back, they could also be used against him. They wouldn’t come back from the dead like Eren would. Their lives would be like pawns for Levi to keep Eren in line. From the sound of it, Levi would have been hunting for Eren after he heard the news of the newest Ajin being on the run. 

Would the four of them still have met up at some point? Armin wasn’t sure how Ajin found each other, but there had to be some way, right? 

Honestly, Armin was grateful for meeting up the way they had. What if Levi HAD known that Eren was an Ajin and so thought that the other two teenagers were a threat to him. Would he have killed them before they had a chance to explain themselves? There Armin went, worrying about the ‘could have been’s. This was present and it was what they had to work with. Armin’s musing was interrupted by a shout, making him jump. 

“Is that a threat?” Eren was on his feet in an instant once he connected the dots to what his friend was implying. 

“No, it’s a promise. I will do whatever is necessary to assure the safety of my group.” Levi didn’t flinch despite the fact that Eren looked ready to throw himself over the coffee table to take a swing at him.

“How do you expect me not to do the same for my own then?!”

Levi didn’t, that was exactly the point and while Eren knew this, it didn’t stop his anger. This guy, Eren just wanted to rip into him again. It wasn’t fair that Levi was the one holding all the cards while Eren was the one fumbling in the dark with a shit hand and unaware of how to play the game. Eren couldn’t just let someone casually talk about discarding his friends’ lives if he put one toe out of place. But what could he do? 

Cursing softly to himself, Eren glared to the side. All this rage, but nothing he could do with it. 

Then there was the sound of crackling again, both Eren and Levi’s eyes widening while Armin and Mikasa exchanged curious glances. 

Then the girl and blond were screaming as the couch they were sitting on flipped backwards, the coffee table being tossed violently several meters away causing the glass top on it to shatter into a million pieces with a deafening crash. The sound of something solid colliding with another was heard and as the two humans struggled to right themselves to peek over the edge of the couch, they heard Levi’s voice, tone holding a hint of amusement. 

“Oho, so you have one too. Not bad.” 

Eren’s eyes were wide as he stared at the two, large, black and ghastly figures grappling against each other before him. One of them was the familiar specter from Eren’s kitchen and the other was new.

This one had wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, new chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Levi's a real piece of work, isn't he? But you have to love him at the same time. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did please comment it really makes my day to hear what you guys think and imagine might happen next.


	4. What's in the Fridge, Not Chicken Wings

This new phantom was both similar and oh so different than the one that Eren was familiar with. This one was smaller, while the specter from the kitchen was easily towering beyond two meters in height, this one was just barely reaching the two-meter mark. The creature was lean but still muscular, made of the same crackling black material that was constantly flicking off and drifting up into the air. Even so, the form didn’t at all seem to be growing less solid. Black crisscrossing bandage-like skin that was similar to a mummy in appearance was rippling as each blow connected. 

Another difference between the two was the newer one didn’t have a mouth. 

In fact… it didn’t have a face at all.

The creature’s head looked like a perfect sphere that had been cut in half horizontally. The inside of which Eren could easily see into when its head tilted forward. It looked like it was filled in the brim with inky blackness that seemed to sway and shimmer like moving water, but never spilled. It was like a film of plastic wrap was stretched tight over a bowl of water, full but never leaking or spilling forth no matter which way it was flipped or moved. 

The most noticeable feature of it was the wings. They weren’t the cliché angelic wings that sprouted from where the spine would be on a human. No, these came out of the upper portion of the creature’s shoulder blades. They were huge, easily two meters long and a meter and a half wide, their flapping ruffled Eren’s hair and made the curtains sway in the kicked-up breeze. The placement of the wings made them look unnatural and disturbing to look at, raising too high up out of the body when one was used to the classical image of biblical beings. ‘Feathers’ constantly fell free of the wings, but would always disintegrate into black particles before they hit the ground. 

The beast from Eren’s kitchen was swiping and punching with claw tipped hands which were being blocked by the equaled taloned ones of the other creature. While it was smaller than its counterpart, it was faster, able to block any move and keeping the other boxed in so it could not take a step away from where it had first appeared. 

Staring in awe and fear, Eren could only watch the odd supernatural match going on before him. The smaller seemed to be easily making up for its lack of height with the use of its wings to help build momentum and power behind its actions. Also, it used the extra appendages like battering-rams, the apparent hard tops of the wings smacking against its opponent with loud thuds. 

But while the larger was obviously trying to destroy the other and get towards the raven sitting behind it, it seemed that the winged beast was simply content with parrying blows and not making too many of its own. Eren felt frozen in place, unsure of what to do and afraid that he might bring attention onto himself if he so much as breathed too loudly. For a brief moment, his eyes flicked towards Levi. The man didn’t look afraid, instead he seemed to be simply observing the match with narrowed eyes. 

For now, it seemed that neither Ajin were going to put a stop to the strange fight before them. Eren because he didn’t know how to and Levi wanting to study the movements of the two monsters. 

On the other side of the couch Armin winced as he touched the growing lump on his head from where his skull collided with the hardwood floor. Slowly he forced himself to sit back up, seeing Mikasa collecting herself beside him. They shared as glance, the girl giving a small nod before they peeked over the edge of the furniture. Only to see…

Nothing, just Eren standing ramrod straight with eyes wide with confusion and fear, while Levi continued to relax in the armchair, though his eyes were focused on following something that they couldn’t see.

Both Mikasa and Armin could hear something colliding against each other, could feel the strange gusts of wind that whipped past their faces and knocked over picture frames. They could see the way the rug that had been under the coffee table was being mussed and ripped before their eyes by something unseen. 

‘What fucked up thing is happening now?!’ Armin wondered, baby blues wide as he tried to see whatever the two Ajin were focused on. But there was nothing there…. Right?! 

The blond’s heart started to pound harder and harder, fear sinking into him as he jumped as he heard a smack that sounded much closer than before. Another concentrated blast of air knocked a lamp off one of the end tables with a crash. What and where was it all coming from? Swallowing hard, Armin continued to stare forward, he wanted to see that was happening. 

He needed to.

Mikasa’s sharp breaths beside him told Armin that she was thinking the same thing as he was. When he felt her iron tight grip wrap around one of his wrists he could feel her rapid pulse thumping through her fingers and into his own flesh. They had no option but to stay silent in hope that whatever was crashing about wasn’t going to turn on any of them. There was only so much that a person could handle in a single day! 

Some might say that what Armin and Mikasa had gone through was only a fraction of the suffering Eren had experienced with his two deaths. But they had been forced to watch one of their most precious people die, each time unable to offer any aid or comfort. That feeling of powerlessness, both friends hated it. Mikasa had strength to fight back and Armin had brains, but neither could do anything when the moment of truth had come. 

Armin blinked, once, then twice, then again. 

Each time he did so, something… two somethings were gradually coming into focus… 

What the hell?! Mikasa’s eyes widened and started to dart about which told Armin that she was seeing the same thing he was. Two large monsters struggling against each other and were made of the same strange material that Eren had dispersed when he had died the first time. Still fear of those claws turning on him made Armin’s tongue feel too heavy to move as he watched the fight. 

“That’s enough, destroy it Libert’e.” Levi’s voice seemed to break through the muted silence in the room like a hammer through glass. Then again it wasn’t that quiet, the only sound that had existed had been the crackling and chittering of the black particles sliding against each other, smacks of the monsters’ fight, and the gnashing of the teeth of one of the specters. 

“Shitty brat.” A warped version of Levi’s voice rumbled out of the winged beast before it moved almost too fast for the teenagers to track as with a powerful beat of its wings it lifted itself higher into the air. One of ‘Libert’e’s hands clawed into the taller creature’s shoulder before it swung its feet forward driving them straight into and then through the head of Eren’s specter. 

Eren winced not because he felt any pain, but because of how brutal the attack looked as the taller monster froze and then crumpled as its head was destroyed. Rapidly it dissipated into a cloud of black specks and then disappeared completely. It didn’t go silently however, the distorted echo of Eren’s own words being whispered out, “I’ll kill… them all.”

The winged creature landed back on the ground with a loud thump, proving that it was heavy despite its appearance. Its wings wrapped around itself, much like how a bat would. The black expanse of feathers making it almost look like Libert’e was wearing a cloak. It stood rigid, not moving a muscle as Levi sighed from his position on the chair, “So you already have a black ghost. That’s rare since most Ajin can’t manifest one if they’ve only had a few deaths.” 

“Black… ghost?” Eren repeated numbly, barely acknowledging the sound of the couch being moved back into place by Mikasa as the two humans settled once more on it now that the danger seemed to have passed. 

Levi only gave a small nod of his head, noticing how Mikasa and Armin’s eyes remained looked on the creature he sighed, “So they can see it too, not surprising with how much ruckus they were making.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mikasa demanded, she was the one that managed to get her bearings the fastest after that strange display. There was turn to her shoulders that spoke of her being prepared to either run or defend her friends if the monster so much as twitched towards them. It didn’t though, remaining still as a statue, without the top half of its ‘head’ they couldn’t really gauge where it was looking. It could see, they knew that much from watching the fight and how it moved and ducked under the fists of its foe. 

“Black ghosts, or IBMs as the scientific community in America calls them, come from and are controlled by an Ajin to protect themselves. No one is sure on how they are first summoned, some theorize that it’s a mixture of the number of deaths an Ajin has suffered and an intense emotional distress occurring when the death occurs. Most humans can’t see them, the only time that humans can witness an IBM or those black particles that Ajin are constantly shitting out when we are healing is when the human is experiencing a strong emotion, such as fear for one’s life. IBMs can also be seen if an Ajin decides it wants it to be seen or if they can’t control their anger or bloodlust.”

Levi was still shocked that Eren could produce an IBM, it took years and hundreds of deaths for some Ajin to bring out their black ghost. Some had still never summoned one at all. Also during the first few times an IBM was brought into the reality it usually had a much less solid form. While it could still be deadly, they usually deteriorated quickly, sometimes only lasting for a few seconds. Eren was breaking all of the ‘rules’ that Levi had come to understand for the mummy-like creatures and it was slightly disturbing. 

Speaking of which, with the slightest of nods from Levi, Libert’e started to rapidly disintegrate before the trio’s very eyes making small sounds of alarm come from them before relaxing once more when they realized that this was ‘normal’ according to Levi. IBMs could only last for a certain amount of time, but how long depended on the Ajin. 

“IBM… What does the acronym stand for?” Armin asked, his heart rate slowly starting to settle back down as he pulled his knees against his chest and set his chin on top of them. Just holding onto himself seemed to be a way to grasp onto the situation and not fall into the deep end of this supernatural bullshit. Science, if it could be explained scientifically he would feel so much better. 

“Invisible Black Matter apparently, but that’s about as much as I got from those archives. Couldn’t risk digging too into their systems and getting traced for it.” Levi wasn’t the one that had done the hacking, it was a human that did it that he was familiar with. Moblit was one of the few humans that Levi felt that he could trust, if only for the fact that the man was able to put up with a different Ajin so well. Anyone that could deal with her on a daily basis had to be just the right mixture of crazy and pure hearted. 

Not that any heart was ‘pure’, Moblit’s heart was speckled with black with the things he had done to help Levi’s group. 

“The rest is just speculation on how these fuckers work. Maybe they’re a form of evolutionary development to insure the survival of the species. Ajin might be hard as hell to keep dead, but if we are captured it’s a different story.” Levi answered with a small shrug, “Libert’e is the nickname that I gave my IBM, it’s not a conscious being. At least not in the way that it has deep emotions or can communicate intelligently. Usually the ghosts exhibit an exaggerated form of the emotion that the Ajin is feeling. For example, anger, which is why Eren’s IBM was so ferocious and trying to disembowel me.”

“But, I didn’t call that thing,” Eren mumbled, collapsing onto the couch again and holding his head in his hands. He could follow what Levi was saying… kind of. It was difficult, okay?! 

“You didn’t have to, brat. If you’re not able to control your emotions, then your IBM is just going to keep coming out and running wild. Either get your anger in check or watch your friends be eviscerated when they’re the closest thing for it to attack.” Levi was going to be blunt, if Eren couldn’t keep himself composed under some harsh words, there wasn’t a chance in hell that he would be able to master controlling his IBM. 

Eren felt his heart drop, could he really be that dangerous? Would his friends die by his hand if he couldn’t control this monster? This couldn’t be real, he wasn’t supposed to be a threat to them. Eren was supposed to be the one to protect them! If his ability to take a bullet for them was negated by the fact that his temper landed them dead, then what good was his immorality? 

“He-Hey, you gotta teach me. I can’t let this thing hurt Mikasa or Armin, I just can’t!” Eren had wanted the words to come out as a demand, but instead they were a desperate plea that made him wince. 

“It’s not like I have a choice in the matter anyway, so wipe that pathetic expression off your face.” Levi groused, clicking his tongue in distaste as he realized that his tea had gone cold. “You’re having to follow my rules now, remember? That includes the ‘not killing unless necessary’ clause.” 

This was turning into one big headache that Levi had not been prepared for, it was moving too quickly compared to when he found other Ajin. Usually he eased them into accepting their nature and would only cover one new thing a day to let them adjust to everything. Now with the presence of the brat’s two human companions badgering him with questions and prompting Eren into even more emotional tension, Levi was being forced to talk more in one day than he was used to. With Mikasa and Armin it was three times the burden to deal with. 

Eren having a solid, functioning IBM further complicated matters. 

Levi had a system in place where he would usually spend a week or two with a new Ajin, build a trust between them, set ground rules, and explain all that he thought that the person could handle. After that, Levi would dump the Ajin on an older one to be taken care of and monitored until they determined that they could survive on their own. Usually the newer Ajin never ended up leaving the town of their older counterpart, leading to five Ajin living in the same town. Levi decided to put a cap on that number. It was too risky if any of them where discovered. 

Sure, Levi didn’t suspect them to turn traitor. Each of them knew all too well that the government would lie about cutting a deal with them. There would be false promises of freedom, respect, and less painful experiments if they ratted more of their kind out. They were less than human in the eyes of the government and scientists so they had no obligation to uphold their promises and no one would know the difference anyway. 

The case of this German brat messed up his routine, with an IBM that dangerous and with the other’s volatile temper Levi had to rethink what would be the best course of dealing with him. The final decision could wait for a few days, it was too dangerous to be traveling out in the open right now anyway. Laying low in the cabin was their only option until search efforts moved to a different area. 

“Thank you.”

The words brought Levi out of his swirling thoughts, blinking as he took in the earnest expression on Eren’s face. Kid was looking at him like Levi had all the answers and could magically make things better. For the moment Levi decided to be merciful and not pop Eren’s small bubble of relief. 

“Whatever, if we’re done with the freak-outs for the day someone needs to start cleaning up this mess.” There was a massive pool of blood upstairs that needed to be mopped up before it stained the wood.

“Wait, I still have a few questions and I’d really like them answered.” Armin interjected, he needed just a few more facts and then he would resign himself to following Levi’s command. 

“You can ask two, no more, think carefully blondie.”

Biting, but Armin hadn’t expected much less, he had more than two dozen on the backlog, but for now he decided to obey the stipulation the older man gave. “First, the scream. Second, why are you in this house?”

It was a good question Levi mused, once again the blond was proving to be very impressive in his wit and deductive abilities. It would make sense that the other wanted to get details on what Levi could use against them. They had witnessed IBMs and screams so far, they were no doubt curious to know how many more weapons could be hidden in the biology of an Ajin. 

“The scream is kind of a last resort that Ajin can use, it doesn’t work on other Ajin and the affect it has on people has some limitations. If a person knows that the other is an Ajin, the scream’s effect can be damped because it is expected if they know about the power. Wearing earplugs or something like them can also lessen the effects.” Despite its cool state Levi sipped some of his tea, it was better to not waste it and he wasn’t a heathen that would reheat it in the microwave. “It paralyzes humans for a short period of time that should be enough for an Ajin to escape or to kill their attackers.” 

Armin hummed softly as he closed his eyes, digesting the information as he mumbled to himself, “So because a human doesn’t expect their prey to make such a noise so it makes them freeze up.” 

Chewing on his bottom lip for a moment Armin’s eyes suddenly snapped open as he pumped his fist into the air, almost smacking Eren in the face as a result, “I got it!! Its purpose is to trigger a thanatosis reflex!”

“Thana-What? Armin, German please.” Eren whined, of course Armin would be having fun with these discoveries and the science mumbo-jumbo. Eren, on the other hand, was just floundering to keep up with the conversation. Mikasa seemed to be having no trouble understanding, nodding her head from time to time and focused on picking apart the new information she was given.

“Thanatosis, it means immobilization in the attempt to fake death. It’s a trait in animals they use to escape a predator or some other threat. It’s most often seen in insects like beetles, stick bugs, and some snakes, they play dead and their bodies freeze up completely in the hope that the predator will lose interest. The effects can last a long time, even if the animal wants to move it takes a while for the muscles and joints to unlock.” Getting a blank stare from his friend Armin sighed as he decided to use a different tactic.

“Eren, what do deer do when they get headlights shined on them?”

“They stop moving.” Eren answered, brows scrunching as he knew that many of the car accidents in the countryside were caused by the herbivores. Eren had hit one of the stupid beasts when coming to the cabin two years ago when the trio had been forced to wait until the evening to leave because of some useless last day of the school year assembly. His car had been totaled, but neither he nor his friends had been injured thankfully. His parents had said they would wait until he graduated to decide if they would help him get a new one since he didn’t need a car to go to school since it was so close. 

“Yes, deer freeze up in headlights because they are startled and think that if they don’t move they’ll go unnoticed by the threat. Even as the car comes closer their muscles are locked and they can’t make themselves get out of the way. This is the same thing humans apparently do when they hear an Ajin’s scream.” Armin’s words were patient and he smiled when he got a nod of approval from Levi for his explanation. 

“Oh, I get it,” Eren was relieved when he finally connected the dots, he wasn’t stupid, he had pretty decent grades. However, all this advanced talk about biology and his brain feeling like it had been pounded into hamburger by the other revelations throughout the day was making him run out of thinking power. He had a certain amount of that, it was one of the reasons he often fell asleep in his easy classes. Eren had to recharge before his difficult lessons. Not that the teachers ever gave him any sympathy for his reasoning. 

“So, humans are instinctually wired to think that Ajin are a threat?” Mikasa asked, frowning softly as she remembered how it felt to be paralyzed earlier. She hoped that that had been too big of an assumption to make, but only a shrug came from Levi.

“It’s ironic, we are considered superior in terms of biology, but for the same reason we are considered inferior to humans in the eyes of the public.” It was a hypocrisy between nature and society, not that there weren’t many other examples of this in other instances throughout the history of humanity. 

Mikasa couldn’t help but nod her head in agreement and while Levi acted aloof, he wasn’t acting like he thought humans were lesser beings per say. It seemed to just be his personality rather than any personal feelings about the differences between the two races. It was distrust towards humans, rather than hatred. Despite their less than favorable meeting, Mikasa really did find herself respecting this man. That didn’t mean she would completely let go of her grudge for him killing Eren for a bit longer though. 

“As for why I’m in this cabin, I’ve been coming here for years when I’m in the area. It’s easy to find out what places are summer homes with just a little research or asking questions around the closest town. This family only comes around in the summer so it’s a convenient place to crash.” Levi concluded as he pushed himself to his feet once more and started to head for the kitchen, cup in hand, “Now that that’s settled, get to cleaning, brats.” 

The trio didn’t immediately hop to the other’s orders, not that Levi knew this as he disappeared from sight. All three of them where dumbstruck by the other’s confession. Levi had been staying here for YEARS during the non-summer months. It felt a little violating as Eren glanced about the room taking in the smiling family portraits and pictures he was in as well that were scattered about the living room and mantle. No one had known of the invader of their safe space until now and Eren wondered if there had ever been a close call with Levi meeting the Kirsteins. Then again, he didn’t think the family would be as cheerful or possibly alive if that had happened before. 

A shiver rolled down Eren’s spine as he thought about what could have been, finally standing when Mikasa pressed gently against his shoulder. 

“Eren, do you think that you’d be comfortable cleaning the bedroom while Mikasa and I continue to unpack the truck?” Armin asked, it might seem cruel to ask Eren to mop up his own blood, but he really didn’t want his friend out in the open more than necessary, even out in the middle of nowhere as they were. 

Eren grimaced but nodded, the mess was his own fault… in a way. Going to the closet he gathered up some cleaning supplies before making his way back up the stairs. He didn’t exactly have much experience when it came to cleaning up blood, but he would try his hardest to get it out. He didn’t want to bring trouble to Jean’s family after how much they had been through together over the years. 

It had taken a total of six trips out to the truck and back into the cabin for Mikasa and Armin to finish unloading it. It would probably take most of the night to unpack. Levi had looked over the pile by the entryway with interest, but didn’t offer to help unpack anything. Instead he simply seemed to hover over the shoulders of the trio, Eren being his main target with his overly colorful orders on how to clean up the blood and his apparently piss-poor job at it. 

Mikasa and Armin had gotten a bit of a respite from the older Ajin’s presence when Levi started to clean up the shattered remains of what once was a beautifully crafted coffee table. The first thing that they needed to do was take care of the food that needed to be refrigerated. Wrestling several coolers towards the kitchen they divided the tasks. Mikasa taking care of things that needed to go into the separate freezer in the garage and Armin stocking the fridge. 

The silence in the cabin was shattered by a high-pitched scream. 

Levi groaned at the sound, ignoring the way his chest tightened as he wondered what the hell was the problem now. Rushing into the kitchen he was greeted with the sight the blond boy holding a clear plastic bag with trembling hands. The contents were no doubt what had spurred Armin’s scream as his mouth opened and closed like a dying fish as he tried to form words while Mikasa stood by his side, the only way to figure out that she was shocked at all was her widened eyes.

The refrigerator door was still open, revealing several other bags sitting on the shelves with their gruesome contents on display. The items were a range of different things and varied in size, but they held one common trait. 

They were organs. 

Not just any old organs, but obviously human organs. The bag held by Armin containing a heart, its dark red color contrasting against the paleness of his face. 

Sighing Levi pinched the bridge of his nose, it was his own fault for not remembering his plans for the evening in all the excitement that his new companions brought. With only a few steps he crossed the room and easily plucked the bag from Armin’s fingers. 

“I guess I won’t be making that delivery tonight, what a fucking waste.” 

Levi grumbled to himself as he tossed the bag back into the fridge and used his arm to casually swipe the bags against one side of the fridge to take up less space. He didn’t care if he crushed or damaged the contents anymore, he wouldn’t be able to deliver them in the timeframe for them to have any value. He couldn’t make the exchange for two reasons, one he needed to keep an eye on the brats and two, the roads would be filled with cops looking for the escaped new Ajin. 

It’d be a pain, but he’d probably have to go bury them out in the forest later. Maybe they’d be picked off by some scavengers, it didn’t matter to Levi. As he finished his rearrangement he turned back to meet the dark eyed gaze of the girl as she spoke. 

“You traffic human organs for the black market.”

“Mhm.” 

“You traffic and sell your OWN organs.” 

“Yup.” 

Eren had rushed into the kitchen to investigate all the noise just in time to catch Armin’s falling body as the blond fainted. 

A person REALLY could only take so much in the span of eight hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hoped you liked this newest chapter, it was pretty fun to write and I hope that I explained some details about Ajin powers in an easy to understand way, more information will come in Eren's 'training' with Levi. 
> 
> If you enjoyed it please leave a comment I like to see what people think of this story and new concept!


	5. Curry-ier (Carrier) Pigeon

“Wha… What happened now?!” Eren demanded anger shining in his eyes as he looked for something to defend Armin against. He was struggling slightly with his awkward hold under his blond friend’s armpits to keep Armin from crashing to the kitchen floor. 

Eren was also so very confused as to what could have happened. Armin was already preparing to be a doctor and had constantly shadowed Grisha at the hospital during the weekends. In his determination to learn all he could, Eren knew that Armin had snuck into the surgical ward more than a dozen times to watch procedures. Being both devious and clever, Armin would always creep into the operating rooms during the middle of the surgery, making sure to be dressed in full scrubs and sterilized before he did so. 

Being wrist deep in someone’s guts didn’t lend the medical staff the time to notice the extra assistant in the room or if they did, they couldn’t afford to bother with physically forcing Armin to leave. Any verbal warning went ignored by the intelligent youth. Eventually, Grisha and the other doctors gave up on trying to keep the high schooler out. Locking the door was too much of a safety and health hazard. 

Despite it being against ethics, Armin was soon allowed to handle some of the instruments. If it was an important, risky task he wasn’t permitted to touch, but something simple like stitches, setting a bone, or starting scalpel cuts were things Armin quickly mastered. 

If any patient hazily remembered a blond head of hair while under anesthesia the doctors would simply say that it was an observing medical student that was visiting the hospital and he had already returned to his university. 

For something to make Armin faint… Eren wasn’t sure he wanted to know the cause as he glanced up to the other two people in the room. Mikasa was stiff, her face showing a mixture of being impressed and horrified as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Then there was Levi, it wasn’t surprising to see his face looking rather blank. However, the slight cocking of one fine eyebrow showed his amusement at the passed-out coconut.

“Traveling to and from so many countries, on top of other things is expensive. I just found a way to use my immortality to my advantage and profit.” Levi finally offered as he plucked a bag back out of the fridge to wave it into Eren’s line of sight. 

It was fucking hilarious to see the way that the brat’s eyes bugged out as he looked at the pair of kidneys in the clear plastic. Seemed Eren could connect the dots pretty fast after he had some time to relax. Maybe he wasn’t so hopeless after all. 

“You’re not going force Eren sell his organs,” Mikasa’s voice was biting, eyes narrowed in silent challenge for the older man to disagree with her. There was no way she was going to let this guy carelessly butcher her friend like he was livestock ready for harvest. He could cut himself open all he wanted, but if Eren said no, like hell was she going to let this guy bully him. 

“How much do you make?” Eren’s voice broke the staring contest that had erupted between the two ravens. Mikasa looked disappointed by the question as she spoke, “Eren, no.”

“They’re my organs! I can do what I want with them.” Eren snapped back, instantly regretting it as Mikasa dipped her chin under her scarf. She always hovered over him, which Eren admitted that he sometimes needed with his temper. But if he could repay and provide for his friends whom had given up their normal lives for him… Why shouldn’t he?

Levi just smirked softly as he tossed the bag back into the pile in the fridge before moving to sit on the kitchen counter. Somehow the hop up on the tall piece of furniture was graceful, instead of hilarious, despite Levi’s short stature. 

“Depends on the buyer and the location, could be a couple hundred to several thousand, it all hinges on how desperate the person is.” Levi answered with a small shrug leaning back on one hand as he watched Armin start to stir in Eren’s hold. Sure, maybe Levi should feel bad about taking advantage of someone else’s circumstances, but he needed to fucking eat. He wasn’t making anyone take the organs, just made the offer. 

“Don’t your buyers get suspicious about where you keep getting them from? If you give regular deliveries I’d wonder why you had an unlimited supply with no murders or deaths being reported in the news.” Mikasa inquired, shaking her head with a sigh before sliding a cooler closer to the fridge and unpacking the contents into it. A jar of pickles by a pair of kidneys, sliced ham by a heart, fuck she hoped that Levi didn’t actually eat his own bits. 

Blue eyes were blurry and unfocused for a few seconds before Armin mumbled and Levi was astounded once more by the wit of this kid. Recovering from his unconsciousness and immediately diving into logic.  
“Even if they did suspect that Levi is an Ajin, capturing him and handing him over to the government would mean a single large payout. While continuing to work with Levi means a continuous payout that would probably be larger than what they’d get for betraying him. Also, the government would probably do background checks on the people who brought him in, if they were discovered to be criminals they’d just be thrown into jail without any money at all.”

“A guy willing to hollow himself out isn’t one a sane person would like to tangle with and there’s still so many things that aren’t know about Ajin that it’d be dangerous to try and keep Levi as some sort of slave instead of paying him,” Eren continued where his friend left off, positively beaming when he got a nod of approval from Levi for it. 

“Ajin organs don’t cause any problems in humans?” Mikasa asked as she started on the next cooler after picking out some drinks from it and setting them on the counter for the others. Four bottles, a silent gesture to show her acceptance of Levi’s presence in their tightknit group. 

Levi plucked up the bottle of black tea, taking a swig before answering, trying not to outwardly grimace as cold tea was an absolute abomination in his eyes. However, he wasn’t going to literally spit out the offer of peace, “Haven’t gotten any complaints so far. My blood type is conveniently O negative so I get paid the big bucks. Some people are so desperate to save themselves or their family member that it kinda feels like my shit is worth its weight in gold sometimes.”

“You don’t… eat your own organs, right?” Armin ventured, he was no stranger to toing the line between right and wrong, but he didn’t think that that was a border he was ready to cross. 

“I don’t think Ajin would have to,” Eren answered for Levi, making all three heads focus on him again. It was a little intimidating, but Eren felt like he was starting to understand his new body. Continuing after he got a small inclination of Levi’s head, “The first time I died it was after we had eaten lunch. When I got home and had time to actually think about what had happened, I tried to throw up. But nothing would come out. My stomach was empty, but I didn’t feel hungry either.” 

“Good observation, I’m surprised you noticed that when you were probably running around like a chicken with its head cut off,” Levi granted, but soon was rolling his eyes when Armin, who had still been hanging from Eren’s hands during the conversation, was dropped to the ground with a squawk when Eren’s grip on him slackened in his surprise from Levi’s praise. 

Fumbling over apologies Eren helped his friend back up as Levi explained, “Even if an Ajin dies of thirst or hunger we’ll reset with a body that is close to our personal ideal. However, that doesn’t mean that if Armin was an Ajin and he dies that he’d recover with a massive amount of muscle. He’d still be a frail coconut. If someone is born with some disability, such as a limp or missing appendage, even if they reset they will still have that disability.” 

So Ajin weren’t cannibals, at least they didn’t have the inclination to be, it was a comforting fact to the trio. A comfortable silence descended upon the kitchen as they digested all this new information. Armin and Eren helping Mikasa continue unpacking the food while Levi watched them. 

Eventually Levi hopped back off the bar, grabbed a plastic bag to dump all the organs into, and a flashlight from the cabinet, then set off towards the back door. Calling over his shoulder as he tried to remember where he had last seen the shovel behind the cabin, “I’m going to go and take care of these, don’t burn the place down or do stupid shit while I’m gone, don’t need the fucking forest rangers or Smokey the Bear to discover an Ajin hideout.”

“I don’t understand that reference,” Both Eren and Mikasa answered back, Armin seeming to be the only one that did as he cracked a smile. Still the blond gave Levi a suspicious glance as he left, like he wasn’t sure that Levi wouldn’t ditch them. Eren had a curious look, but was still grinning at whatever Mikasa had said. The girl for her part flipped Levi off while looking for a peeler to work on some potatoes. 

Being fall, it was already dark as Satan’s nonexistent soul when Levi started to talk through the thick brush. Branches scrapping against his thighs and legs as he pushed through it. He wanted to put a fair distance between himself and the cabin before he buried the organs and made a few calls. 

It would be easier if he could just drive further out, but on the off chance that there was someone wandering the woods he didn’t want to be heard. His first task of burying the organs deep underground complete, Levi let the shovel drop off to the side before pulling out his phone. The signal of which was cloaked so he didn’t have to worry about it pinging off a radio tower and revealing his location. 

The list of messages was comforting as he mentally checked off the list of names in his head with the ones appearing on the screen. A few hadn’t sent in their check-ins yet, but that wasn’t unusual for them, differing time-zones was also a factor that often came into play. Eight names so far flashed across the small display, a good number. 

The content of each message was short, simply stating if there was a change in location, a close call, or something of interest that they had seen or heard. All of them mentioned the new ‘fantome’ that appeared in Germany. The French word for ghost serving as their codeword for Ajin. Levi needed to give a report to them all, but that would have to wait.

Right now, Levi needed to make a call. His thumb practically stabbed the button to speed dial his target. Getting a male voice on the line instead of a slightly more female one, didn’t surprise Levi as he pinched the bridge of his nose as he listened.

“Levi, sorry, Hange is in the middle of an experiment. Do you think that this could wait for just a little bit?” It was Moblit, the dark haired Ajin was able to picture the man in his mind perfectly, squirming with nervousness and exasperation at the timing. 

“No, fucking reset her and put her on the line. This is important, I’ve already found the new Ajin and have him with me.”

A sound alarm and surprise answered him before he heard rapid footsteps, Moblit’s grunt of strain, then a short gurgling sound. A few seconds later he heard a familiar voice loudly complaining about the interruption before falling silent. Muffled voices ticked Levi off as he tapped his foot impatiently against the ground, Levi knew by now to take his ear away from the phone when he heard a deep intake of breath. 

“Oh, Einstein shitting plutonium! You found him already?! That’s why you’re my favorite grumpy shortie! From the picture on TV he looks like a really cutie! Are his internal organs cute too, have you seen them yet!?” The words were practically a screech and made Levi grimace waiting a few seconds for her ranting to end before bringing the phone back to his ear. 

“Shitty glasses,” Levi started slow, making sure she wasn’t about to fall into another tirade while proclaiming her excitement. He could already feel a growing headache. With all he was going to tell her he was sure that he was going to get at least one busted eardrum before the call was over. After all, even Levi could tell that Eren was going to be a special case. 

He started small telling her how they had met by coincidence, in the same cabin, before he had even heard of a new Ajin being discovered. 

“Poor thing, you slit his throat without giving him a chance, you’ve always been shit at first impressions.” Hange hummed, the scratch of a pencil against paper in the background. Levi knew Moblit was probably busying himself with cleaning up the ‘aftermath’ of whatever experiments they had been doing. “I think the first thing you ever said to me was ‘If you don’t shut the fuck up I will axe kick you so hard in the boob that my heel will reach your warped heart and turn it to disgusting pulp.”

Levi ignored the sound of shock from Moblit, yeah, the phone was definitely on speaker. “I’m still tempted to try it the next time I see you. Then again knowing you, you’d probably get off on it.”

A cackle and concerned murmuring answered Levi, waiting a few minutes for the two to calm back down before continuing with his recap up to the point of Eren’s black ghost making an appearance. 

“No way, he’s got an IBM already?! That’s-“ Hange puttered off the sound of falling papers and possibly a chair banging in the background as she most likely fell from it. Levi counted backwards in his head from twenty as he waited for her to recover, he reached twelve before Hange continued her statement, “He said that he’s never died before, right? Is so this is an extremely rare case.” 

“Brat seemed adamant that the roof and the bedroom were his first times.” Levi rolled his eyes at the immature giggle he got for his choice of words. “Focus, Salete.”

Her IBM’s name being called seemed to bring her attention back to the matters at hand, but not before whining out, “I can’t believe you named them that, really, ‘filth’? So mean.” Taking a breath, she continued, “Anyway, a fully formed IBM being summoned with so few deaths. It’s unheard of according to all my data. I mean we have reports that there is an Ajin in China being used for experiments that is already past her two thousandth death and hasn’t produced an IBM yet.”

Levi already suspected as much, but he still gritted his teeth at the mention of the trapped and tortured Ajin. If she did produce an IBM she could possibly escape on her own if she got control over it. 

“Also, you said Eren’s already has its own unique features… Levi, you need to watch your back.” Her voice had dropped, seriousness dripping from her tone as she sketched a picture of the IBM Levi described. A snarling face was ‘looking’ back at her as she set the pencil down. Eyes narrowing behind her glasses as she knew that when an IBM is first summoned they usually all had the same basic appearance, human-shaped, taller than an average man, and a normal shaped head with a missing face. It was only after a couple more appearances that the IBM’s features began to change into something more individualistic. 

Usually the IBM’s features reflected some internal aspect of the Ajin it belonged to. For Eren to possess something so soon and one that was so ferocious looking…

They needed to keep on their toes around Eren. The new Ajin was lobbing too many curveballs at them from what they knew and expected of their shared race. The silence on the phone lasted for a few more moments, both thinking about how to deal with this new development. 

“Anyway~! You must bring him to me, Levi! I can’t wait to study him, find every little thing that makes him tick, oh it’ll be great fun!” Hange demanded, and Levi grimaced as he imagined the woman drooling like a dog over a bone at the idea. Of course, she’d want to take Eren apart with all these weird attributes. Then again, all the Ajin under Levi had been forced to be inspected by her scalpel a least a few times. 

“You’re going to have to fucking wait until the heat dies done, we can’t afford to move with the pigs running around with their snouts glued to their asses.” Levi hissed back, if they could leave Levi would be pleased as arsenic punch, but they were basically stuck. It might be for the best, let Eren calm down and adjust before having to meet Hange of all people. 

A whine of disappointment answered him before she asked, “Wait, ‘their asses’? Oh right, those other kids that are wanted for possibly aiding Eren’s escape. They’re seriously with you too?” 

“Yeah, I’m surprised myself that I actually believe their honesty about staying by the brat’s side.” Levi answered, leaning his back against the trunk of the pine tree and looking up to stare at the stars that were winking back at him. If he had even a shred of doubt in their character he would have forced Eren to leave with him and abandoned the other two. There were only a handful of humans that knew of their group’s existence. Levi having to meet each one of them to make sure they were credible and to assure the human that their death would be painful if they broke that trust. 

None of the Ajin still had contact with their parents or their old lives. It was best for it to stay that way. They had a few other younger members of their group and while the separation from their families and friends was difficult in the beginning it was eventually accepted as the only option. For the sake of their loved ones staying safe and moving on, cutting ties was the most humane way. 

Armin and Mikasa didn’t fit that mold however, just another thing that stuck out about Eren’s circumstances that was odd. Levi quickly explaining the personalities for the two humans that were now also under his eye as Hange listened. As he explained the organ incident he surprised himself by chuckling at the memory while the woman cackled before they both quieted down.

“Hey, Levi?”

“Hmm.”

“If something goes wrong, I can take the kids out of the picture for ya.” Her tone was cautious, but firm in her offer making Levi unconsciously growl. 

“What are you insinuating, shitty glasses?”

“It’s just… If you get attached, I can do it.” It had been so long since she had heard a true laugh from the raven and while Levi probably wasn’t aware of it, the tone of his voice had been thinly laced with affection during his recounting. 

“Don’t doubt me Hange, I’ll take them out as easy as any other if they become an issue. Same as I would with you or Moblit.” Hange only laughed at his threat, but she seemed reassured despite Moblit muttering in the background to not to drag him into this.

“Alright, alright, fearless ruthless leader, but seriously, get Eren to me as soon as you can so I can examine him. The quicker we figure out the extent of his abilities the better.” Hange cheerfully reminded and Levi knew that she was already scheming a barrage of experiments to perform on the brat once she got her hands on him. At least under Hange the experiments would be less painful than those conducted by the government and Eren could always say no to more of them after the standard tests that were done to each member of the group. 

Honestly, Levi hoped that Eren would agree to do more experiments, he was so odd and broke so many rules for a normal new Ajin. Maybe through Eren’s trials, Levi could finally get what he wanted. 

“I’ll be training the brat and his IBM in the meantime, I’ll keep you updated if anything interesting pops up.” Levi was wrapping up the call and Hange quickly said her own goodbyes before Levi hung up. Sighing as he suddenly felt exhausted the raven glance one more time at the stars before making his next call to his dealer to cancel the delivery and to set a new date for a few days later. That done he turned on his heel and headed back towards the cabin. 

When Levi finally reached it, and opened the door he was immediately hit with an absolutely delicious smell. An earthy spiciness tickled his nose as he took in the scene before him. Mikasa was standing at the stove, stirring a pot with a relaxed expression on her face. Armin was setting silverware, and drinks on the table. Eren had a look of pure concentration on his face as he scooped fresh, steaming rice out of the rice cooker into large bowls. 

The bar was a mess with vegetable scraps and used knives. Seeing that there was a job to be done, Levi rolled up his sleeves and started to clean up the counter and do the dishes that weren’t being used any more. Each of the teenagers glanced at him when they heard the sink turning on, but returned quickly to their tasks. 

The atmosphere was calm and pleasant…. It was so domestic and Levi frowned as he wondered if this was how a normal camping trip or family was supposed to feel like. Levi wasn’t used to elaborate, home cooked meals. The most advanced he usually got was throwing mushrooms, butter, garlic, and chicken in a pan together. Usually the food ended up slightly charred, but it was edible. 

Levi watched from the corner of his eye as Eren handed the bowls to Mikasa who would ladle whatever was in the pot on top of it before handing it to Armin to take to the table. The trio worked like a well-oiled machine, obviously having danced this dance hundreds of times before. They were so young, but had such deep bonds. Levi found himself hoping that it never came to the point that they would have to be separated. 

In their fragile situation, connections could be your savior or your downfall. 

A call to eat was given from Mikasa and Levi turned off the tap, leaving some of the dishes to soak so he could finish them after dinner. Armin was sitting across from Mikasa while Eren sat by her side, leaving the chair across from the brunet open for Levi to sit. They were still cautious around him, but were making an obvious effort to include him and get on his good side after such a rough initial meeting. Honestly, Levi felt a bit like he was intruding as he sat down in his chair. 

The teenagers immediately started to tuck into their meal, while Levi examined the food before him, using a spoon to move the yellowish-brown mixture around to see what was in it. Bright reds of bell peppers, carrots, chucks of chicken, onions, and big hunks of potato seemed to have been stewed together in the Japanese style curry. 

The taste was good and when Levi went for his second bite he noticed three pairs of shoulders relax. Still Levi had to wonder, “This seems to be rather elaborate, I wouldn’t think that high schoolers would pack healthy or things for a complete meal when about to run for their lives.”

“When I went to my house to pack some clothes and things, I saw that the ingredients for curry were sitting on the kitchen counter. My mom was planning on making it tonight, I just shoved it all into a cooler before leaving.” Mikasa answered with a small shrug of her shoulders, though her eyes looked sad as her thoughts turned to her parents. If she saw them again, she’d have to apologize for no doubt making their night terrible with both their only child disappearing and their dinner plans being ruined. 

“I raided my grandpa’s fridge before we left. He’s elderly and has to be careful of what he eats so we’ve always had a lot of produce and healthy food in my house,” Armin tacked on, leaving from his place also meant that they could pretty much take the entire kitchen with them. The Kirsteins also kept their cabin stocked all year with nonperishables so they would be set on food for a while. 

“Maybe there is hope for the youth after all,” Levi murmured, not unkindly and getting eyerolls from his audience. “Or you brats are the exception, I’m impressed with how you’ve handled yourselves so far.”

Levi didn’t seem like a person to dish out compliments flippantly so Eren felt his pride swell at the words. Still Eren doubted that the man would be very thrilled by the fact that he had so many handheld gaming devices in his own bag. He probably wouldn’t even be able to turn them on for a while yet as Armin had explained the importance of keeping off the internet or using anything that could produce a signal until they figured out how to cloak it. 

That was fine, after all, Levi was much more interesting than any game. The man was vulgar, blunt, and strict, but at the same time he seemed to care for the Ajin he knew. He also seemed to be trying to get along with Armin and Mikasa despite his earlier statements of suspicions towards humans. Eren wanted to know everything about Levi, but he seemed reluctant to open up in regards of himself more than regarding his species. 

“You were gone for a while; did you bury the organs really far away?” Eren said the first thing that popped into his mind to try and make conversation with Levi. However, the look that the other sent him made Eren immediately want to put his foot in his mouth. Fuck, that sounded really accusatory, didn’t it?! 

“I-I mean, I’m not trying to be nosey, you don’t have to answer if it’s private, umm, ah,” Eren panicked as he tried to backtrack, despairing as he knew he was only making it worse with the way Armin shook his head while placing the heel of his hand to his forehead. 

“I was making a few calls.”

The admission shut Eren up immediately, leaning forward in interest and with wide eyes as he silently begged the older man to elaborate. Levi seemed like a natural loner, but it seemed his quest for justice for his kind had made him discard that aspect of himself. No, Eren thought that assumption was wrong, Levi was a protector despite his distant attitude. 

The puppy eyes seemed to make the man cave, “I was doing the check-ins on the other members of the group. One of which you’ll have to meet as soon as we are able to move. She’s a physician, but also an Ajin. She lives a couple hours away, but still in Germany.”

“She’ll examine Eren to make sure he’s a… normal Ajin?” Mikasa frowned as the words sounded odd on her tongue as they were a complete contradiction to the concept of what their lives had been just this morning. Still, she was hopeful that the woman might reassure her that Eren was really okay. Also, she might be someone easier to get along with than Levi.

“That should be the case,” Levi tried to hide his smirk as he could guess that the girl might be thinking, they’d all be in for a surprise when they met Hange of all people. Then again, Levi suspected that Armin and Hange would get along very well. Poor Moblit might become jealous if the woman decided to take the blond under her wing as an apprentice or something along those lines. 

Armin’s cheeks were red as he dealt with the spice of the curry as he didn’t have a lot tolerance for hot things, but enjoyed the taste of it anyway. “You said that you were going to train Eren to control his IBM, right? How long do you think it will take for him to learn how to use it?”

“Don’t know, brat seems to have a pissy personality which is going to be magnified in his ghost. Probably going to be a real bitch. The training will also be slowed by how many times Eren is able to summon it in a day.” Levi answered with a small hum, getting another bowl of food, happy to eat something that didn’t come out of a microwave or a box. 

“You just met me, you don’t need to jump to conclusions,” Eren growled, a little put out by the older Ajin’s words. 

“Eren you a perpetual ball of rage and self-righteousness on a good day.” Armin pointed out, snickering softly at the aghast expression sent his way. Mikasa was also hiding her mouth behind her hand.

“Whose side are you on?!” Getting a few laughs made Eren grumble and slouch in his chair, before he yelped as a boot collided with his shin. 

“Sit up straight at the table, brat. Weren’t you raised with any manners?”

“Why are you all against me?!”

The conversation lulled and the clock continued to march on and yawns were soon escaping the teens from their long stressful day and full bellies. When Mikasa’s body dipped dangerously to one side for the fifth time, Levi had enough, quickly gathering the bowls as he ordered, “It’s time to go the fuck to sleep for you. I’ll finish cleaning up, Yeager, you and I will share the master bedroom.”

“What? Why? I could just sleep with Armin or on the couch?” Eren asked, unsure of what would prompt Levi to make such a decision.

“No, it makes sense. If Eren’s IBM comes out while he’s having a nightmare or something, it might try to kill the first person it sees. If you shares a room with Levi, that person will be him. Eren, if you’re going to start training tomorrow you need to be well rested. Sleeping on the couch won’t help you do that.” Armin cut in.

Glancing at the back of the fit Ajin washing dishes, Eren doubted that he would be well rested at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter out there and some new characters introduced, I hope you are still enjoying this and thanks so much to those who have left comments, they really make my day.
> 
> If you liked it please comment and tell me what you think!


	6. Reassurance and Insurance

Getting the dishes done and the leftovers put away took far less time than Eren preferred as he slowly dragged himself after the short, raven haired Ajin. He admired the other, but he was still, rightly, a little terrified of him. Sighing Eren noticed that Levi had already disappeared into the master bedroom by the time that he reached the top of the staircase. Mikasa and Armin met him there, the blond giving a small reassuring smile while the girl fiddled with the scarf wrapped around her neck as she stared at the thick oak door Levi had slipped through. It was strange to think that Levi and Eren would sleeping in Jean’s parents’ bed, then again, the fact that Levi had been staying in the cabin for years while it was empty was still mind boggling to the trio.  

Mikasa was the first to break the silence between them, which wasn’t surprising, what was were the words that came from her lips.

“Don’t look so down, Eren. You’ll be fine, I think that we can trust him for now.”

“You like him?!” That was a shock. Honestly, Eren wondered if he had slipped into some kind of delirium despite the fact that he revived with perfect physical health each time he died. The state of his mental health, however…

It would probably be a good idea to ask Levi about the subject later. Still, back on topic, he hadn’t thought that Mikasa would forgive Levi so quickly after he had killed her friend in front of her and made numerous thinly veiled threats on the trio’s lives since then.

“I’m still pissed at him, don’t get me wrong.”

Ah, so the world wasn’t falling apart after all, that was reassuring. Eren wasn’t going to look out the windows and see that it was literally raining cats and dogs. Fucking awesome.

“But, if everything he says is true, he really does care for other Ajin and he’s willing to help us. Not many would be willing to take such a chance that includes taking on three teenagers, two of which hold no value to him.” She elaborated further, while not exactly comfortable with following a random stranger, Levi seemed to oddly click with them. Dinner had revealed more of his crass nature and dark humor, but it made him seem more…. Human.

She grimaced slightly at the irony of the word. No, she didn’t want to fall into a pattern of thinking of Levi as any different than the rest of humanity. If she did so, then that would mean that she was also knocking Eren off the same level which she held herself.

A shared immortal curse had intertwined Eren and Levi together, as much as it irked her, Mikasa knew that the rude Frenchman was exactly what her friend needed if he was going to survive away from the hands of the government or black-market dealers.

 Armin hummed in agreement, already dressed in a set of oversized pajamas, “Tomorrow you’ll start your Ajin training. So, try to get some rest, you’ve had a rough day.”

“I think I’m still in for a rough night,” Eren grumbled, racking as hand through his hair as he pursed his lips. His backpack being forced into his chest by Armin almost knocked the air out of him, hands fumbling to not drop the heavy bag as the intellect rolled his eyes, “Don’t be such a baby, Eren.”

“If he tries anything weird you could always just kill him, there’s not really any consequence for that.” Mikasa added, her eyes glinting as she motioned slightly to knife she knew Eren still had tucked into his pocket. It was comforting to her to know that Eren wasn’t going to be left alone unarmed. Even if he could summon that strange creature, they all knew that he didn’t have any control over it yet.

“Come on, I doubt Levi bites.” Armin chimed, trying to ease Eren’s nerves as he had paled at what the girl might be insinuating.

“He did say that he’s not a cannibal.” Mikasa added, her voice and expression flat. But there was a bit of amusement in her gaze as she watched Eren drop his bag so he could cup his face in his hands as he groaned.

 “You’re really not fucking helping!”

Armin outright laughed at the scandalized expression on Eren’s face and soon Mikasa was chuckling as well. Hearing his friends laugh despite the situation made it difficult for Eren to stay mad at them for long and with one last, drawn out, tortured sounding sigh, he also surrendered himself to laughing. The circumstances were too ridiculous not to.

The sound of the wood colliding against wood startled the trio out of their mirth, Armin letting out a higher pitched squeak than he would ever admit to as he clung on instinct to the closest thing to him. Which, at the moment was Eren.

Fumbling with sudden armfuls of flailing blond, Eren was silently glad that he hadn’t lost his balance and went tumbling down the stairs. He really didn’t need a third ‘reset’. All three heads turned to look towards the source, seeing Levi staring at them from the now open door. There was a scowl on his face, but that wasn’t unusual, but perhaps it looked a touch more murderous as he spoke.

“Do you need me to read the book “Go the Fuck to Sleep” to you or are you big boys and girls that can go to bed without needing a bedtime story?”

“It’s not even that late yet, or are you that much of an old man?” Mikasa quipped back as the boys struggled to untangle themselves from each other.

“Weren’t you the one about to get some curry scented shampoo from how you were slumping over the table?” Levi countered with ease as he rose a single brow. It was satisfying to see the surprise in those dark eyes at how easy the other man dished back everything he got, with side dishes of sass.

He didn’t give the teenagers a chance response as he continued, glancing pointedly towards Eren, “I’m taking another shower, the forest is disgusting. By the time I get back I expect you to be in bed and all lights out.  And no, neither of us are sleeping on the floor, it’s a fucking king size, just keep on your side. If I get cold feet on the back of my legs, I’m going to hang you from a tree by your intestines.”

Then the head of black hair disappeared once more, leaving the trio slightly fearful for their lives.

“He’s probably just really serious about getting sleep when he can. Living on the run and with so much responsibility probably makes him unable to rest that often.” Armin pipped, trying to soften Levi’s threats with reasoning. When he got a look from Mikasa and Eren he sighed, “Do you not see those dark circles under his eyes?”

Eren and Mikasa couldn’t argue with that and after a few hesitant ‘goodnights’, they parted ways. Slinking into the bedroom, Eren tried to distract himself with organizing the things he had in his overstuffed bag on the dresser. Wrestling out his toothbrush and other toiletries he glanced over to the door that led to the master bathroom attached to the room.

Hearing the spray of water, he decided, yeah, fuck that. Eren wasn’t particularly interested in losing his head and quickly shuffled back down the stairs to use that bathroom for his nightly routine. It almost felt normal, staring into a familiar mirror, in a house he had spent most of his childhood. But, things had changed and Eren silently marveled at his reflection. Leaning closer to the glass, he placed a finger against his throat.

Shivering, he traced the line that Levi had carved through his flesh. There was no scar to tell the deed, but Eren knew he would never forget the feeling of the unforgiving metal slicing into him. It hadn’t exactly been painful; his body was probably too high on stress and adrenaline to mentally register the pain.

Then there had been the numbness as he felt his blood draining out of him. His heart struggling to beat in his chest without the pressure of the usual amount of fluid to pump.

Eren had died twice in one day and the lack of wounds or physical mementos honestly pissed him off.

It made him feel like a normal person, which he knew that he couldn’t claim to be anymore. He, despite all that Mikasa and Armin were silently trying to reassure, wasn’t human.

While Eren might not consider himself as monster and Levi didn’t appear to be either, there seemed to be a darkness about them both. But maybe he was letting his mind run wild by imagining those damned little black specks spilling out of him once more.

His forehead thunked against the mirror and made him wince. Leaning back, he rubbed at the growing red spot as he stared as the greasy mark he left on the once pristine surface. Right, he should stop moping, wash his face, and get in bed.

And he did just that, cleaning the mirror quickly and trying not to look at his reflection any more. Shuffling back into the master bedroom, he flopped onto the left side of the huge bed. The mattress was a welcomed softness and nestled his tense body gently. There Eren laid, flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling. In the back of his mind he registered the feeling of his brows furrowing and a scowl tugging down on his lips, his thoughts wouldn’t give him peace and the sound of the shower in the background was like static.

Eren understood the reasoning as to why he was forced to share a room with Levi and despite his show of hesitation to the others, he was kind of thankful for it. This IBM business, it added a whole new layer of terror to all the shit he had already been put through that day. It felt reassuring that there was someone that could and would stop him if that giant, black goblin mummy monster reappeared.

Could he really be able to control such a thing? Levi had said it didn’t have a conscious or something, right?

But it could think independently, that was obvious with how it attacked the other IBM, dodging and parrying some blows though with far less finesse than ‘Liberete’.

“The ceiling’s not gonna catch fire no matter how hard you glare at it, if that’s what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Eren jumped at the sound of Levi’s voice, head snapping to the side to see the older man standing in the doorway of the bathroom, dressed in a baggy T-shirt and boxers. The T-shirt had some English words printed on it that took Eren a few seconds to translate in his head. The phrase almost made him laugh at the ridiculousness and scary accuracy of it, “SARCASM, JUST ANOTHER THING I’M GOOD AT”. Levi was still toweling off his hair so Eren didn’t think that he had been watching him for that long.

“I wasn’t trying to do that.” Eren finally grunted, rolling to lay on his back once more, his scowl remaining as Levi snorted.

“Okay, so you’re constipated? You look like you need to take a colossal dump.”

“I thought the French were supposed to be elegant with their words, with the language of love and all that.”

“Well excuse me for not offering to suck you off instead of slitting your throat earlier.” Levi countered, having drawn the towel over his eyes as he worked the soft, fluffy fabric through his short locks. By doing so he missed the absolutely aghast expression on the teenager’s face, along with the small tint of red to his cheeks that he managed to fight down before Levi revealed his face once more.

While Eren knew it was a joke, something to get a rise out of him, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, words croaking out a little weakly.

 “D-Do you swing that way or was that part of the joke?”

“Is it going to be a goddamn problem if I do?” The words were frigid, blue grey eyes narrowing as he hung the damp towel on a hook attached to the bathroom door.

“No, sir!” The words came out as a short shout, that had both males tensing, waiting to see if the other two teenagers would come bursting through the door to find out the cause of the disturbance. When no fire and brimstone came in the form of angry female, they relaxed.

As Levi sent another accusatory look his way, Eren clarified, clearing his throat, “I don’t have any problem with it. I mean personally, I don’t what the fuck I am. I haven’t really dated before and, shit, I sound like a loser now.”

Levi was attractive, Eren had no problem admitting that to himself either. His personality seemed to leave a lot to be desired though.

“Why would I judge you on your lack of a love life? I don’t care about that shit as long as it doesn’t get in the way of you listening to my orders.” Levi muttered, rolling his eyes as he moved to sit on the side of the bed. The lamp sitting on the nightstand on Eren’s side of the bed was now the only light source that was on in the room. The silence stretched awkwardly between the pair for a few moments before Levi shuffled himself under the blankets, obviously preparing to just go to sleep.

But as the light remained on, he huffed, foot smacking against Eren’s leg as he grumbled out, “Either go to sleep or say something, brat. I’d like to go to sleep eventually and I’m not particularly fond of being able to see the inside of my eyelids.”

Jumping at the contact Eren slipped under the covers himself and flickered off the lamp as he answered, “I… how do you deal with it? Not being human?”

Levi had said that he had known that he was an Ajin for over two decades or perhaps longer, if anyone could give him the answer it would be him, right?

After a long-suffering sigh, Eren’s answer came.

“You just do.”

“That’s _really_ fucking helpful advice.” Eren snorted, cross his arms over his chest under the covers as he continued to glare at the ceiling.

“Listen, Eren. I’ve never been good at this comforting junk, ask any of the other Ajin I’ve worked with if you want proof. Never claimed I was perfect or the best person either, but I know that I’m not a monster. A murdering, sarcastic piece of shit, yeah, but I only do what I feel I must to survive and to help the people I think deserve it. I don’t know your story, all I care about is making sure that you stay safe and don’t do stupid shit that endangers the rest of us.”

Eren’s brows pinched together as he digested the other’s words, it took a few minutes, but he realized that they were Levi’s roundabout way to assure Eren that Levi thought that Eren was a good person and worth risking everything for.

It was a bit of a daunting idea. Jean had always called Eren a ‘suicidal bastard’ with how he would get into fights and do dangerous things on the fly. However, the title was now literal and he was sharing it with Levi it seemed. Eren found himself resolving to never let Levi think that aiding him was a mistake.

The moment he did so, Eren believed that that would be the sign that he had become something truly despicable.

“Thanks.” It seemed like the only appropriate response that Eren could think of and he was answered with a grunt and shift of the mattress that told of Levi rolling over.

“Yeah, yeah, go the fuck to sleep already, brat.”

Deciding to obey, Eren closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him, he would be thankful in the morning about the fact that he didn’t get any nightmares after such a stressful day.

Levi didn’t have nearly as a restful night as he woken up several times by the fact that the brunet was a cuddler. Eren had almost received a knife to the heart when Levi had woken up to the feeling of arms wrapping around him. The sound of snoring in his ear had managed to stay his hand before the switchblade in a sewn-in pocket of his boxers was pulled.

Though he roughly disentangled himself from Eren, the youth didn’t stir even as he was rolled over to the very edge of his own side of the bed. Levi would get another hour or two of sleep before the apparent hybrid between octopus and Ajin would latch onto him again. One of Eren’s legs had slid itself between Levi’s own and an arm was slung across Levi’s chest to draw the man unconsciously closer to himself. Eventually, Levi decided to give up, trying to ease his body into sleep despite the unfamiliar feeling of someone practically wrapped around him.

It wasn’t the best sleep he’d ever had, but as the early morning light peeked through the curtains Levi knew that it was adequate. He was already planning on getting his revenge by putting the teen through hell today.

Well, Levi might as well start the day off right.

Disentangling himself from Eren once more he then shoved the younger Ajin off the side of the bed. Smirking at the sound of the thump and squawk of confusion and pain.

 _So, Eren doesn’t sleep like the dead after all, good to know,_ Levi thought to himself as he sat up, stretching his arms over his head. Feeling and listening to the sound of bones and joints popping, he urged his body to wake up faster before getting out of bed, calling out to the tangled mess of limbs and blankets still wriggling on the floor.

“Get dressed and head downstairs for breakfast, wake up the other two while you’re at it. Also brush your teeth, your breath smells like death.” The sound of the bathroom door closing marked Levi’s exit just as Eren’s head popped out of the blankets with a scowl.

Rude, and why the fuck did Levi know if he had morning breath or not? He obviously wasn’t going to be getting an answer anytime soon and with a small groan of pain from his fall Eren got to his feet. His movements heavy and clumsy with sleep as he redressed into a pair of black jeans and simple t-shirt.

A knock on the door of the guest room and then Jean’s room summoned a semi-dead looking Mikasa and a cheerful Armin. The blond was a fucking morning person and he descended the stairs with some pep to his step while the other two teenagers half stumbled after him. By the time that Levi entered the kitchen he was greeted to the sight of Eren and Mikasa at the table nursing what he assumed to be cups of coffee as they leaned on each other. Armin stood by the stove humming a small tune to himself as he cooked something that smelled decent enough.

Levi sidled himself beside the blond after pouring some water in a kettle, setting it on an open burner with a grunt when Armin offered an enthusiastic good morning.

Another fucking morning person, Levi had thought that Moblit was a rare breed of human to be one.

Still Levi couldn’t complain that much when a plate was slid in front of him that held scrambled eggs, toast with jam, and some quickly stir-fried peppers and onions. Food also seemed to rouse Mikasa and Eren fully out of their stupors.

As the odd group started to eat, Armin ventured cautiously, “So, you’ll be starting Eren’s Ajin training today, right, Levi? What exactly are you going to do for it?”

“The most pressing matter is getting Fripouille under control.”

“Fripoullie?” The teenagers repeated, unfamiliar with the obviously French word that had Levi rolling his eyes.

“It means dubious character. Your case has broken so many of the facts that I thought I knew about IBMs that I’m not sure what to make of it.” Levi answered with a shrug as he took another sip of his tea.

“So, you’re insulting it? Also, I don’t think I can even pronounce half of that word!” Eren complained, “Shouldn’t I be the one to name it? I want something cooler.”

“I’ve named all of the other IBMs but if you’re got to be a child about it, fine. What do you want it to be called?” Levi wasn’t normally someone to give in so easily, but he was still in the process of waking up and there was a familiar pain in the front of his skull that signaled the start of a headache. It was also far better to stop the whining now than to let it fester into something that would triggered Eren’s emotions into summoning the creature when he didn’t his way.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable for me to name my own monster something I can say,” There was a pout to Eren’s voice, though he quickly fell silent as he tried to figure out what he would call the creature that seemed so wild, imposing, and ferocious.

“How about ‘Rogue’?”

“After all that, you’re not even going to name it something that is in your own fucking language?” Levi grumbled, pointing out the hypocrisy in Eren’s logic. 

“It does sound pretty cool though.” Armin mumbled out, Mikasa nodding her head in agreement. Levi had to withhold the urge to throw up his hands in frustration, huffing out with a small shake of his head, “Fucking do what you want. Just decide on it and make sure that it responses to it.”

The words unintentionally made Eren lose his appetite, his brows scrunching as he wondered, what IF the creature didn’t answer to it? He swallowed, trying to push the fears down as he shoveled some more food into his maw.

Omelets fixed everything, specially cheese omelettes.

His eyes flicked to the older man sitting across from him and a grin tugged at the corners of his lips. It was a terrible idea, honestly, he knew this, but that didn’t stop him, Eren needed to escape these distressing thoughts before they took root anyway.

“Hey Levi,” getting a grunt in answer he decided to press on as the raven took a sip of his tea.

_“omelette au fromage.”_

Mikasa and Armin snorted next to him while the Levi’s thin brows only pinched together obviously confused as he looked between the chortling trio of teenagers.

“I think I understood what you were trying to say through that butchered accent, but what the fuck about it? Yes, you’re eating one, congratu-fucking-lations, dumbass.”

That immediately ended the snickers, the youths exchanging a glance, before remembering the words from the other day. Levi had said that he lived in the slums and on the streets of France most of his childhood, it would then make since that he had never watched cartoons and heard the rather cheesy joke. Also, the shtick probably wouldn’t have been broadcasted in the country anyway, though it wasn’t exactly at the expense of the French.

At the silence Levi huffed, picking up his finished plate he took it to the sink, after washing it quickly and setting it into the draining rack he called as he headed towards the backyard, “When you’re done being weird, I’ll be waiting outside to begin your training. Lose the shirt if you don’t want it eviscerated.”

The warning sent chills down Eren’s spine, he didn’t exactly expect the training to be painless, but at the same token he really wasn’t looking forward to possibly dying again. It didn’t seem that he would have a choice in the matter though, if it helped him to learn how to control that beast and to protect both himself and those he cared about, he’d have to suck it up.

Or at least the ground would have to soak up his blood.

Fuck, he really didn’t want to do this and with a groan he let his forehead smack into the table.

“I’m _doomed_.”

A small pat landed on his back from Armin as the blond tried to be encouraging, “At least he’s trying to be considerate? I mean we all only have some much clothing with us.”

There was little more to be said, though Mikasa did poke Eren’s cheek a few times with a spoon before finding his mouth and making him eat a few more bites of food. Unable to put it off for much longer, the trio made their way outside and found Levi stretching on one end of the yard. The Frenchman’s shirt was already off and there was a light sheen to his skin from sweat as he loosened his muscles and worked out the kinks in his back.

As soon as the trio were within shouting distance, he told them to also start stretching. When Armin hesitated, Levi’s glower as he walked over to meet them was enough to get him moving. Armin had never had the greatest stamina or strength, having always preferred books to sports from a young age. Even the starting stretches were obviously a strain on him as he gritted his teeth, the one advantage that he seemed to have over Mikasa and Eren though was that he was more flexible.

Mikasa followed the commands without protest or difficulty, which received an approving grunt from Levi.

 Unfortunately, Eren wasn’t having as near of a successful time as his female companion. It wasn’t that Eren wasn’t the most physically fit, quite the opposite in fact. But he was finding it incredibly hard to concentrate with the fact that whenever he leaned down or over, he was face to face with tight abs that looked like they had been sculpted right out of marble.

Honestly, it was a relief when they moved on to sitting stretches, Eren focusing on trying to creep his fingers across the grass between his spread legs to make his back bend closer to the ground.

His nails clawed through the dirt as he tried to mimic Armin across from him, the blond gave him a tight smile, but then pulled a face.

Before Eren could question the reason, a squawk was forced from the young Ajin’s lips as two hands fell across his shoulders and they were pushed both forward and downwards.  On instinct, Eren struggled under the new sense of pressure, but his attacker was not easily budged. He knew who was the cause, and as Levi proceeded to put more of his weight onto him as Eren groaned.

“Are you trying to snap me in half!?”

“You’re not even two thirds’ of the way down, brat.”

“Well sorry that I wasn’t a dancer in a previous lif-.”

Eren cut himself off, both because of the irony of the statement and the fact that Levi had decided to give him another shove downwards prompting another groan of protest from him. If Eren did break his spine it could be fixed by death, popping back to his feet good as new. While Eren didn’t end up pressing his front to the ground, they did get results.

When Eren stood back up though, his legs felt like jelly and he took a few unsteady steps before seeming to finally get his body to listen to him once more.

Shaking out their limbs the teenagers looked towards the Frenchman, trying to prepare themselves for whatever Levi decided to throw at them next.

“All right, you little shits, if you wanna learn how to survive, you’re going to have to listen to my rules. Got it?” Getting rapid nods from Eren and Armin, along with a subtle one from Mikasa, Levi continued, “First rule, don’t fucking complain. Each time you complain, your ass if going to hit the ground hard. Take that to mean what you will. Second, in the beginning, no humans around during the IBM practice.”

That comment did get a protest, Mikasa narrowing her eyes with suspicion, “And why can’t we be around exactly?”

Levi moved fast, one foot hooking around the back of the girl’s ankle and with a tug, she was knocked off balance. She managed to cushion her fall, landing on her shoulder instead of stupidly trying to stop her fall with her hands. That was a sure-fire way to break something, shattering the delicate bones of the wrists or fingers into splinters that could have pierced through flesh. Bone shards liable to cut through veins and arteries that could have led to bleeding out after minutes of nonprofessional medical treatment.

Yes, the human body was far too fragile than most realized.

Unfortunately, Levi knew all too well how death could dig its claws in, ripping out innards to put them on display as the earth sipped upon life giving liquid.

“Rule number one, remember?”

Mikasa glared up at Levi in answer as Eren helped her back up, the younger Ajin’s brows furrowed at seeing his friend attacked. However, Eren was terrified of truly falling into a rage. His throat growing tight as he tried to imagine a bucket of ice falling into his stomach, like it would cool off the fire of his anger. Trying to douse the flames before they grew all consuming.

“It’s for your own good, or do you fancy the idea of seeing what your heart or stomach looks like?” Levi continued, arms crossing over his bare chest, comfortable despite the bite of the beginning of autumn’s falling temperature. “Until Eren can control Rogue, I don’t want you to be in the line of fire. Usually the first few times an Ajin can summons their IBM is only in times of great emotional stress or fear for their lives. The black ghost will be looking for a threat to eliminate as soon as it spawns. You two don’t have ‘Get Out of Death Free’ cards.”

“So, what do you want us to do in the meantime?” Armin asked, not at all eager to sit inside twiddling his thumbs while the two Ajin danced with the grim reaper.

“Target practice and physical conditioning. If you don’t want to be a tool that can be used against Eren, you need to learn how to defend yourselves.” Levi explained, pointing towards the detached garage that sat a few meters away. “I found some guns that the owners of this place have, along with some of my own, for you to practice with. I already have some targets set up in there for you and some rubber bullet shells.”

“You carry this stuff with you?” Mikasa wondered aloud, taking a few steps towards the building, peeking in to see several target papers hanging from the ceiling, printed black human silhouettes blankly staring ahead.

“Told you I’ve been coming to this cabin for years, I have a storage box that I keep buried out here. Even if it was found, nothing in it can be linked back to me specifically.”

“How did you get out here anyway, this place is really remote.” Eren questioned, also peeking into the gloom of the garage. A glint caught his eye and turning his head, he saw the sleek black motorcycle against the sliding door. Eren’s jaw dropped, it was fucking gorgeous, something that he had fantasized himself getting one day. It looked to be in impeccable condition as well, not a scratch or smudge on it. His fingers itched to touch, but were stayed by Levi’s voice coming from far too close to his ear.

“You dent it and you’re going to wish you couldn’t come back.”

Eren swallowed the shrill scream that tried to bubble out of his throat as he leaped away from Levi, heart beating against his ribcage as he wondered how the hell the other had managed to sneak up on him so quietly.

Levi only rolled his eyes, “Rule three, don’t touch my bike. Rule four, do not leave the property we are staying at without telling me first. I don’t care if you’re galivanting off into the woods to rub one out, you tell me first.”

Armin and Eren’s face turned spectacular shades of red while Mikasa kept herself from cringing instead giving the man a blank look. All three of them wondering how in the world Levi could say such things with a straight face and then dive right back into seriousness again.

“Rule five and above are what I told you the other night. No killing humans unless it is absolutely necessary to keep ourselves safe. Do not reveal your true identity to anyone, no matter how innocent they appear. Only use devices with a cloaked signal. Lookout for your fellow Ajin and those you trust. Lastly, when on your own if you need to do something unwholesome to survive, do it smartly, desperation makes one stupid. But just by being an Ajin and the compatriots of one, you’re already criminals in the eyes of society.”

Getting solemn nods of understanding, Levi crooked a finger for Eren to follow him back into the center of the yard while Mikasa and Armin slipped into the garage.

“Now, brat, summon your nasty ghost.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to you all for your support, I hope you like this newest addition, so sorry for the long wait on this update. The next fic I'm going to work on updating is Hoarding Love and the next chapter of In Your Claws will be hopefully every Friday!
> 
> Please tell me what you think, it makes my day if you do comment and see that you like what I'm doing with mixture of two very different concepts!

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I know I shouldn't be writing another story, but I really wanted to start this, Ajin has become one of my favorite animes and manga of all time. Both are good, but the 3D animation of the show takes an episode or two to get used to, but you should give it a chance. It also has some amazing music, I went to the concert of its composer a few months ago. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope it piqued your interest.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this and comments really feed my writing. 
> 
> And YES I am working on Heart of a Beast once more, probably will be out in a week hopefully.


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